Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will be as brief as possible but maybe we should rename this the market discount and subsidisation of developers Bill. The Government members have been very clear that they believe this is needed. Essentially, they are trying to treat this as a supply-side measure. We had economists and people coming in on an expert level and I thought it was so we could use their expertise; they said this was a demand-side measure rather than a supply-side measure.

The thinking behind this demonstrates how much some of the developer lobbyists have captured the debate. This will not put planning permission applications into the system because people cannot afford to buy under current construction costs. Rather than addressing the underlying issue of the high cost of construction, this would, as Deputy Ó Broin has said, saddle people with higher prices. I am surprised that after all the evidence from all the outside groups, the Government still insists on continuing with the shared equity scheme without fully publishing the details and the experience in the UK. It is reasonable to delete this from the so-called affordable housing Bill. If required, it could return in a different measure. This is not a supply-side scheme; it is a demand-side scheme that will push up the cost of housing and it will not release more planning permission applications into the system.