Fiona O'Malley (Dún Laoghaire, Progressive Democrats)

I commend Fine Gael on tabling this motion. Owning one's own home is most important to every family and individual. Recently, RTE held an on-line poll about the cost of housing. In the comment section one person contributed the following:

I'm 23 years of age. I make €27,000 a year and I've done so for the last two years. I'm single. I don't have rich parents to back me up. The mortgage adviser asked me to call back in two or three years' time. He might have better news by then.

That young man was from Leitrim. That encapsulates some of the difficulties facing us and we should listen to what a young person is experiencing.

The public will be interested to know what the Government has done in this area and I will use the time available to me to set the record straight. It is important that the public recognises that the Government is doing a great deal in this area. We had stated that if we were elected, we would provide good quality, affordable housing through a comprehensive policy to meet the growing housing demands over the period 2002 to 2007. What does that mean? We know the problem. The average house price is now €255,000, and increased by €18,000 in one year. The average house price was €75,000 in 1996.

The effect the housing issue is having on young people is serious. We know from the last census that 42,500 people over 30 live with their parents. I am sure that is not a situation that either the parents or the 30 year olds find the most desirable. We aim to ensure that supply is responsive to the level of demand. We know the demand for housing has spiralled and we must encourage more construction.

The public does not want to hear that the problem is created by our own success. It wants to know what we have done to meet this demand. In 1997, the number of houses built was 38,000. In 2000, it was 50,000. Last year, it was 77,000 and consultants have predicted a similar total in 2005. Those are record construction numbers. That refutes the notion that we are doing nothing.

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