Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Two of the concerns I have with the first round of LIHAF are relevant to the second round. Many of the larger funding allocations were granted to developers who do not actually need the funding. These developers have profitable cash reserves and would have proceeded with the developments within the same timeframe without the money. That is in direct contradiction to the original intentions of LIHAF.

Let us consider the detail of the discounts the Department has provided us with. The average prices after the discount at 2017 prices in the private LIHAF Dublin sites are a little under €320,000. However, the 2017 prices are not locked in. Therefore, as those houses are built in 2019 and 2020 we will see house price inflation. Outside of Dublin we see prices at approximately €250,000 on the basis of 2017 prices. Again, in many places these are actually higher than private sector new-builds. The Minister is giving money to developers who do not need it. There is no guarantee of affordability. In fact, in many cases there is no agreement whatsoever on public sites and mixed sites. It is not simply about ensuring that developers on the sites who need the funding get it. If the objectives of the scheme are to be met, it is vital that funding only goes to those who need it and that there is an affordability dividend. In many cases under LIHAF 1 that was not that case.

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