Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister refuses to acknowledge the facts, which he has put on the record of this House. Some 73% of people who have been approved for the help-to-buy scheme did not need this money at all to garner their deposit. That represents millions of euro being provided, as the Minister says, to help people get a deposit.

The Minister also claims this is about house prices in the second-hand market. I suggest to the Minister that he read the bloody report. He should read the commentary that goes along with the report. He should read the second report that came out yesterday, which very clearly states that house price inflation for new builds is running at double what it is for second-hand ones.

The report has made the distinction, so the Minister's argument falls flat on its face but let me put it to the Minister again. When will the alarm bells start to ring in his private office? When will they ring in the Department of Finance? Is it when house prices go up another €6,000 next month and in subsequent months? At what point will the Minister call a halt to a scheme that is about throwing money at a supply-side problem? This is not a demand-side problem and the scheme is only having one effect, which is to push up house prices and put more money into developers' pockets. These are the same developers who asked the Minister for the scheme.

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