Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State well knows without my telling her, housing provision is a very big problem in Ireland and it is likely to remain very challenging. The latest rulings concerning the Central Bank will present significant challenges for the State. I am not saying the Central Bank is mad but the idea of encouraging people to buy homes they cannot afford to pay for is not a good one. This is how sub-prime mortgages arose. This trend began in America. The Government must get in tune with what the Central Bank is saying and doing. Many people who bought apartments in Dublin in the past ten years did not buy them to keep them forever because many of them want to start families. The truth of the matter is that we did not build apartments that were suited to families; we built them for single people and couples. The apartments are not designed for family use and many people in apartments who wish to start a family will have to get a house. They will not be buying one because they will not be able to afford one. They will not be able to put up the deposit. They will be pushed into the private rental market and private rents will increase.

Companies such as Kennedy Wilson have bought many distressed properties in the State, in addition to distressed sites. It is now seeking permission to build houses and apartments on sites and it has no intention of selling them. These boys are in the rental market. The company is already a serious player in the market in Ireland and will become even more serious. Rent is a matter that the Government will have to address. It will have to get real over the fact that since many people are not able to buy homes, there will have to be a far greater range of social housing options available for them.

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