Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 27 April 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Emer HigginsEmer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The motion before us is seeking to reallocate the €75 million that is going to support 3,000 couples, young families and individuals caught in the rental trap to own their own home. There is planning permission for 40,000 housing units in Dublin alone but these approved plans are not being turned into homes fast enough. We all agree on that. This shared equity scheme will stimulate housing delivery by stimulating building on these approved sites, and by enabling the State to take a 30% stake in new homes, it will make those homes affordable to people who want to buy. Therefore it is going to boost supply and increase affordability.

The Opposition is saying we do not know enough about the scheme yet, so we should scrap it, but let us look at what we do know. We know there is no charge on 30% for the first five years and we know that there is no onus to pay off the 30% until, or indeed if, the house is sold. We know this will enable people to afford their own home, and that is the main difference between what the Government is proposing and what Sinn Féin is advocating for. We want people to be able to own their own home and to sell it at market value to whoever they want. Sinn Féin’s housing plan means people would be able to buy a home in a public housing estate if they earn a certain amount under a threshold but they cannot buy the land it is on so they could not sell it on to whoever they want. They would have no freehold. This Government scheme will increase supply, increase affordability and give people ownership in the true sense of the word.

Last year, housing supply was less than 60% of what was needed. We all know that and we all want to increase housing supply. This will increase supply. We hear talk of the UK scheme, which the Government has looked at and has learned from, and that is why there are going to be regional caps in this scheme. We know that and we got that commitment. It is only one part of this Bill and it is only 2% of the housing budget. We need to give it a chance. We need to give it a chance to increase supply, to increase and introduce more affordability and to enable home ownership across Ireland.

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