Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment and agree with Deputy Doherty.

The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has said the problem of the Government's inaction in the housing crisis has nothing to do with resources, ideology or money. The difference in the Government's approach to the idea of vacant sites and the help-to-buy scheme indicates that is not accurate. Ideology has much to do with it. The resources will be found for developers but will not be found for building homes directly, which is what is needed.

Where did the help-to-buy scheme come from? Who was calling for it in advance of last year's budget? It was the Construction Industry Federation, which had it in its manifesto. It did not do so because it thought it would resolve the housing crisis but because it would benefit its members, namely, developers, who will end up with the bulk of this €40 million of public funds every year. There is no evidence to suggest this is having a positive impact in allowing people to access homes, but the Government proposes to continue to give developers €40 million a year.

Last year, when the scheme was first presented, the former Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, argued it would increase supply. The only way it was ever going to increase supply was by increasing prices. Accordingly, it has created a rat race for people trying to get on the housing ladder, a race they can simply never win. They can have the illusion of having access to money but house prices are going up beyond them, still remaining out of access. Then the money just gets transferred to the developers. That is what has been happening over the course of the past year. The sum of €40 million is not a small amount of money, yet the Government proposes to continue without an evidential basis. There was no evidential basis to start it in the first place, but the Construction Industry Federation called for it and the Government did it. A report was commissioned but there is still no evidential basis for it and the Government intends to continue with it. It is quite incredible and it gives lie to the fact there is not an ideology behind what the Government is engaged in. There is precisely an ideology. It is about incentivising the private sector to deliver homes by increasing prices. The consequences of this are more problems for ordinary people and an overheating of the property market.