Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like the previous speaker, given the boom and bust cycle of the past decade, it is essential that we learn from the mistakes of the past with a view to protecting families across the country and safeguarding the financial rebound that is currently taking place. The stagnation we saw in the housing market and construction sector is irrefutably the result of years of maladministration by Fianna Fáil. Poorly regulated banks loaned copious amounts of money to families and businesses who simply could not afford to repay them and financial institutions and the governance authorities of the day turned a blind eye.

In addition, the fiscal policies of consecutive Fianna Fáil Governments added fuel to the fire and a housing construction bubble ensued. When the bubble burst – boy did it burst – the waiting lists for social housing and the number of families on rent supplement inflated due to overwhelming demand and insufficient supply.

I assure the House that the Government is fully committed to making progressive changes to the housing market, to rectifying the wrongs and ensuring the mistakes made in the past will not happen again.

In many parts of the country we are again experiencing imbalances in supply and demand in the property market. As a Government we have a responsibility to bring equilibrium to the ever-changing demand and the volatile pricing relationship while meeting the needs of Irish families and couples who need houses.

We must boost supply to meet property demands and that must remain a Government strategy. It is part of the strategy for a renewed construction sector, Construction. However, we must think outside of the box because the norms of the housing assistance payment, HAP, and the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, are simply not enough to meet our social housing requirement. I welcome the Government’s housing strategy that will see 35,000 new social houses built by 2020, and in particular the reforms to housing supports, which are badly needed, and that need to be distributed regionally on a progressive basis as opposed to the way it is done at the moment.

We need to look at supports for the private rental sector.

The increased supply must be accompanied by regulation of residential mortgage lending and parameters must be set out to avoid another financial crisis. Those parameters include the two primary control measures set out by the Central Bank today, which are property values and the income of the borrower. The private rental market requires close attention to detail in the context of regulatory measures. Steep and sporadic increases in rental prices across Ireland and in particular in Dublin and its commuter belt, are making financial sustainability increasingly difficult for the 20% of households currently renting their homes in the private sector. This desperately needs to be addressed. The regulation of the rental sector can be seen somewhat in the Residential Tenancies Bill but other parameters must facilitate families currently renting to save their earnings with a view to exiting the retail market and purchasing their own homes.

The implementation of this Government's 2020 construction and social housing strategies will give a foundation of stability for the Irish property market and it will neutralise disproportionate supply and demand, fulfilling the needs for Irish families and citizens to be able to live where they want at an affordable price.

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