It’s Easter, a time when our thoughts inevitably turn to Connolly and Pearse and the current state of the kip they died for.

They would be amazed and appalled. The population has rocketed from 3.1 million to more than 5 million. Life expectation has soared from 55 or 56 to the early 80s. And – get this – Ireland shares top billing in Europe for our supersized houses. Compare that to Pearse’s time when half the population lived in one, two or three rooms – not three bedrooms to be clear, just rooms accommodating broods of eight to 10 children plus another family or two, maybe some lodgers and an outside toilet.

They might also be surprised at the response to these achievements. Think of the modern “patriots” burning down buildings earmarked for human shelter. Think of how the miraculously long-lived older folk now are often regarded as a bit of a nuisance and the annual outcry that they still have the neck to remain in their “under-occupied” homes for their dwindling years.

The ESRI is the latest to report, noting that nearly nine in 10 over-65s live in “under-occupied” housing. On the other hand European Commission statistics for 2019 suggest that it’s not just older people who........

© The Irish Times