Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----and we are aiming for about 25,000 this year and 30,000 the year after. We are seeing evidence now of house prices stabilising. There is even evidence that they are falling in the Dublin area. That is what the latest results say. It is too early to read too much into that and there are other factors at play. I acknowledge that. There is very strong evidence now of a slowdown in house prices and maybe even a fall in house prices in Dublin, and a lot of that is connected to the additional supply. It is not true to say there is not a single affordable home. The average price of a house outside the Dublin area is €250,000 and in many counties it is possible to buy a home for €100,000 to €150,000. I acknowledge that this is not the case in all parts of the country and that is why we need special affordability schemes in places like the Dublin area. They are under way. Other things are available too, of course, like the help to buy scheme, which has helped 10,000 first-time buyers to put together a deposit for their home, and the Rebuilding Ireland loan, which has helped hundreds of people to afford a home they otherwise would not have been able to afford.

On the projections for the budget for this year and next, we intend to have a summer economic statement as normal in the next couple of months, probably in April or May. That should allow us to set out the budget parameters for 2020, but obviously Brexit does affect that.

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