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

I consider this one of the most important amendments we have put forward. For anybody who can go through the tedium of watching 225 amendments, or whatever the number is, being dealt with by an Oireachtas committee, I recommend they look at page 48 of the Bill as initiated. Under section 76, Price under agreement, the Bill sets out two provisions that show the fundamental flaws in the Government's approach in trying to address the housing crisis through the use of the public land bank. It links the price it will charge for either affordable purchase housing or for rental property that will be built on public lands to the local market specifically.

Section 76(2) states: "the Minister may prescribe the price, or a method of calculating the price...and may prescribe different prices and different methods in respect of agreements relating to different geographical or administrative areas". Section 76(3) states:

For the purposes of prescribing a price or a method of calculating the price in relation to an area...the Minister shall have regard to the likely future demand for cost rental dwellings and dwellings for sale in the State...

(a) the prevailing market price and market rent;

Why would one have that in the Bill? If the Bill's purpose is to provide housing to people who are currently priced out of the market, either the affordable purchase market or the rental market, why on earth would one link the price that the Minister could set to local market conditions? It totally defeats the purpose. It guarantees that, in the areas which are at the epicentre of the housing crisis, the very reasons for the crisis will be woven into the structure of the Land Development Agency instead of undermining the dysfunctionality of the market. It is not setting prices according to the actual affordability criteria for those income groups, now the majority of working people, who are excluded by market prices or market rents.

Why are these sections in the Bill? They are there because the private developers and so on who have lobbied the Government around all these matters would be horrified at the idea that, in an area where they are selling property from €450,000 to €550,000, or renting property out at between €2,500 or €3,000 a month, the State might, on any sort of substantial scale, build properties that cost €200,000 or could be rented for €800 or €1,000. These measures have been inserted essentially in order to protect the property developers.

There is no rationale behind these measures. If the Land Development Agency was actually to develop public and affordable housing on public land, one would have no references to the market or different prices being set dependent on the area in which they were located.

If the Minister can prove I am wrong on this, I would be happy to listen to his argument, but I doubt he can do so.