Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"recognises:— that the housing crisis is a national economic, social and moral challenge;

— the need for affordable housing to dampen-down unsustainable property price rises and ensure ordinary families can secure home ownership; and

— that the Confidence and Supply Arrangement for a Fine Gael-led Minority Government contains a commitment to 'significantly increase and expedite the delivery of social housing units, remove barriers to private housing supply and initiate an affordable housing scheme';criticises:— the Fine Gael decision to abolish the Affordable Housing Scheme in 2012;

— the failure to adequately invest in social and affordable housing from 2011;

— the ongoing failure of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to spend the €10 million allocated to an affordable rental model in Budget 2016;

— the lack of specific targets, dates and locations for affordable homes under the Affordable Purchase Scheme announced in January 2018; and

— that the capital housing budget is still 24 per cent behind 2008 levels and is projected to remain at €1.16 billion per annum under the new National Development Plan, still just 84 per cent of the €1.385 billion Fianna Fáil spent on social housing capital investment in 2008; and calls on the Government to:— launch a new off-balance sheet housing delivery agency to lead in delivering social and affordable housing;

— compulsory purchase and develop State and State agency lands in key areas of demand;

— reduce construction costs and expand finance to ensure construction is viable; and

— initiate a new tenant purchase scheme to enable local authority tenants to avail of home ownership at an affordable level."

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