Martin Brady (Dublin North East, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to comment on the call by the Labour Party for a new housing policy to ensure everyone has access to a good quality home in a sustainable community at a price they can afford. The Government's overall strategy is to increase housing supply to meet demand and to improve affordability, particularly for first-time buyers. The record housing output achieved as a result of Government policy speaks for itself and we will continue to build on that success. I congratulate the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Noel Ahern, who has done tremendous work in this area, particularly on affordable housing and shared ownership. Last year was another record year with almost 81,000 units completed, of which 18,000 were in Dublin. This was double the output achieved in the city in 2001. It is expected 90,000 new homes will be completed this year compared to 34,000 in 1996.

One third of Ireland's houses have been built in the past decade. The rate of house completions in Ireland is the highest in Europe at 20 units per 1,000 people, which is five times the rate of our nearest neighbours, the UK. Investment in servicing has led to much greater availability of serviced land to underpin future housing supply. The serviced land initiative has provided services for more than 81,000 units on 164 completed schemes with an additional 95,300 housing units being serviced for a further 59 schemes. The Labour Party has picked up on many statements in our housing policy but it has also made proposals, which are more aspirational than practical or achievable. Policies are worthless if they are not viable.

The seventh voluntary housing land survey undertaken in June 2005 indicated 14,800 hectares of zoned land was serviced nationally with an estimated yield of 460,000 housing units. This equates to sufficient capacity for residential development for more than five years, based on recent average housing output. However, developers and estate agents are responsible for something that is nothing short of extortion. I have raised the issue previously of a developer buying, for example, 100 acres and building on it. The first week units go on sale, the price of a house is €350,000 while the following week a similar house is €380,000. This cannot be justified and it is a disgrace that this practice is allowed to continue. However, while it is not possible to legislate to control the market, we should meet representatives of the CIF and other industry organisations so that they can explain how this can be justified. If they have a valid reason for this, we would all like to hear it.

It is high time they were consulted because, at the end of the day, young people will queue at 6 a.m. on a Sunday to buy an expensive house because they are conditioned into believing that if they do not so, there will be no houses. This is wrong because buyers are being exploited and it amounts to unfair trading. This practice does not apply in other industries. For example, if one puts a deposit on a car and returns to collect it the following day, the salesman will not say the price has increased by €20,000 because there is demand for that model. It is time a clear message was sent to people involved in the construction business that this practice is not on and it must cease.

Growth in incomes and employment, lower taxes, favourable interest rates and availability of finance have largely contributed to improved affordability. Typically average outgoings as a percentage of incomes are higher than in 1994 but people are generally taking out longer term mortgages to reduce their annual outgoings. The 100% mortgages that are available also broaden access.

The Department maintains the index of housing affordability measured by reference to the cost of servicing a mortgage. This index is based on an affordability ratio that shows how much income is observed servicing the mortgage. Due to trends in families and work situations, there has been a steady increase in the female population in the workplace in recent years and it is more relevant to examine trends in affordability for two-earner married households. The index also assumes a loan period of 20 years because this is the traditional loan period. The availability of longer term loans has impacted positively on the outgoings of first-time buyers.

In 2005, some 2,900 affordable homes were produced mainly in the €150,000 to €200,000 bracket. In my constituency, affordable homes are being built and people do not wait on the waiting lists for long. One can get an affordable house or apartment within five or six months, which is a significant improvement on the initial situation. There has been a considerable take-up of the shared ownership scheme.

I welcome these aspects, but we must protect consumers and ensure that they are not ripped off by greedy builders. Between 2007 and 2009, it is estimated that 17,000 units will be delivered by affordable schemes. Earlier this year, the Government improved some of the schemes by increasing the income eligibility limits and subsidy levels.

People have been refused entry to the affordable housing list because they are regarded as being employed on a contract basis rather than being in full-time employment, including school teachers. They will not be approved for loans. Every Deputy knows that 60% of workers are on contracts in semi-State bodies and elsewhere, which is a matter we must examine because it is unfair. It is not the person's fault that he or she is in that situation. Few jobs are for life. There should be cross-party support in this regard.

Local authorities can avail of site subsidies to make houses affordable and almost €13 million was paid by the Department for this purpose in 2005. The maximum subsidy is €31,800, but in the Dublin metropolitan area, counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow and in the cities of Cork, Limerick, Waterford and so on, the maximum amount is €50,000 per dwelling.

In 2006, some €7.7 million for mortgage allowance and mortgage subsidy schemes was made available. The former assist local authority tenants to move to private housing while the rent and mortgage subsidies help lower income households to access shared ownership and affordable housing schemes by giving them annual subventions towards the repayment costs. Many people in receipt of social welfare benefits or Health Service Executive subsidies will never get affordable housing because they do not meet the criteria, but if they get jobs, they will lose everything. We should examine this anomaly.

More than 70 projects have been identified that, with Part V output, will yield the 10,000 affordable housing units proposed by the parties under Sustaining Progress. By June 2006, some 2,115 affordable housing units were delivered under the initiative, 1,791 through Part V affordable arrangements and 324 through developments on State and local authority lands.

Last year, the Government established the Affordable Homes Partnership to co-ordinate the delivery of affordable housing in the greater Dublin area, where affordable pressures are greatest. I wish to acknowledge the good work of Mr. Des Geraghty in this regard because it was important for us to bring on board someone who knows what the real world is about.

See this speech in context