Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I can speak from experience of the social and affordable housing scheme only in County Kildare and I do not know how the mix of affordable housing units is panning out in other parts of the country. There is great interest in the affordable housing scheme. Of all the issues about which people contact me, housing is top of the list.

People who apply for affordable housing have an expectation that houses and apartments will be on offer, but in County Kildare it seems that almost exclusively apartments are offered. I do no know of any applicants who were offered houses recently. However, I acknowledge that affordable units are certainly being offered.

The size of some of these units is unacceptably small. One unit I saw today before I came to the House is a 620 sq. ft., two bed-roomed apartment. One could fit a double bed in one bedroom and sometimes developers squash an en suite into the main bedroom, which results in a reduction in the size of the other rooms in the apartment. In the second bedroom of this apartment one could just about fit a single bed. There is also a combined living and kitchen area. The apartment has very little storage space. That unit might be fine for a short period such as a holiday for a few weeks. However, people are buying these units with a 20-year clawback, with a 100% clawback for the first ten years and a graduated clawback for the following ten years. The provision of such units will create difficulties and it would be best to address them, if that can be done at this stage.

People who purchase an apartment in addition to paying a mortgage also must pay management fees as invariably a management company is set up to manage the property. Such fees amount to almost another month's mortgage repayment in a 12-month period, which often pushes people over the limit in terms of meeting their repayments.

Many people who are offered a unit under the scheme view it as a once off chance; if they sell the property, they will not be eligible for further consideration under the scheme. While an apartment may well meet the immediate needs of young people seeking housing, it is unlikely to meet their medium or long-term needs if they end up in a relationship and have children.

According to the recent home price index survey of the PTS, Kildare has the third highest number of apartments constructed nationally, after Dublin and Cork. A disproportionate number of apartments are being offered for social and affordable housing. I have seen housing estates constructed where the only social and affordable units available are in the apartment element of those developments.

Recently it was announced that Affordable Homes Partnership bought some two and three bedroom apartments and duplexes. We must question the affordability of these housing units when one considers the prices at which they are offered. These apartments are being offered at prices ranging from €263,000 to €287,000. With a 97% mortgage on the higher figure, the monthly repayment is nearly €1,400. In addition the home buyer must pay management fees, and mortgage protection and life insurance premia, as such policies are mandatory on taking out a mortgage. One would require a take home pay of €47,000 to qualify for a mortgage on the larger unit. We must compare like with like; the average price paid for a home by first-time buyers in December 2006 was €279,000. The price offered by the Affordable Homes Partnership for units is more than the average price paid by first-time home owners in December of last year. I question whether it will be left with some of these units, since a clawback provision applies.

We may well be swapping one set of problems for another. The social housing sector in Kildare may be different from other areas, but a disproportionate number of small apartments is on offer. Can the local authority intervene and insist on a better housing mix? We need to anticipate the problems which will arise. Some people who obtained apartments under the Part V provision have transferred from them.

At the very least the clawback provision needs to reviewed in the context of apartments, particularly very small apartments, to ensure that people have the ability to move on. Many people will be discontented; they expect their housing needs will be sorted but in two or three years they may present with a range of different problems.

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