Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I have one very specific question. The housing crisis is the most acute domestic crisis we face at the moment. I cannot emphasise enough how bad it is for a huge number of people, whether they are on housing lists or are working and cannot afford market prices or market rents. Along with public housing, one of the big issues for us is affordable housing.

What freedom and latitude do we have to develop an affordable-purchase scheme where prices will be below market prices? I ask because fiscal treaty rules say one cannot distort the market. However, we must distort the market if we are going to deliver affordable housing because the market is dysfunctional and the average Dublin house price is €450,000, which is completely unaffordable for normal working families. Unless we can sell State-provided affordable houses for approximately €200,000, we cannot deliver affordable housing. Is there a problem from the perspective of the Commission and European rules with us providing below-cost, below-market affordable housing?