Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This comes down to the issue of affordability. That is the core issue we see across the State and in Galway city. We saw a report again last week which shows that rents have risen by 5% in Galway city. No properties within Galway city fall within the HAP limits. We need to have affordable rents and affordable housing. People must have the ability to buy affordable houses. The help-to-buy scheme simply does not tackle the issue. That is my core concern.