Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The motion is timely in that it coincides with the publication by the Central Bank of its new home lending regulations. Key to the objectives is to increase the resilience of the banking and household sectors to the property market and to reduce the risk of the bank credit and housing price spiral which we experienced in the past. I welcome the prudent and balanced regulations. In the longer term they should work to moderate price increases and to halt the creation of yet another catastrophic housing bubble.

It is important to be clear that the 20% limit for first-time buyers proposed by the Central Bank kicks in only on the value of a home higher than €220,000. In practical terms it means that, for example, on a property valued at €300,000 the borrower would have to make a down payment of €38,000. I do not believe that is a very serious imposition or that it is unfair or somehow unduly burdensome. I recall that in the late 1980s and early 1990s such a stringent imposition was placed upon my peer group as we set out on the road to home ownership. I recall people having to scrimp, save and work hard to amass the kind of money they needed to get a deposit for their first home. There has been a slow diminution of the requirement over many years, to the point where recently people were securing 100% mortgages. There is no question but that was a major contributory factor in the creation of the housing bubble.

The Government has a sustainable social housing policy with a dedicated budget and a clear and unambiguous programme for delivery. The Social Housing Strategy 2020 will see an investment of at least €3.8 billion leading to the provision of more than 35,000 new homes in the next five years.

It seems strange that Fianna Fáil would question the capacity of the Government to deliver on the strategy when in government at the height of the economic boom, with bountiful resources available to it, it was still leaving 45,000 families on the waiting list for social housing. We have an appalling track record in inflating one of the world’s most damaging housing bubbles, no track record in delivering social housing to those who needed it at a time of plentiful resources. That is the Fianna Fáil legacy and one which none of us should forget anytime soon.

See this speech in context