Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

People know that property developers are not social workers and are only concerned about profit. They will go for whatever yields the most profit. Property developers are business people. They want to get the best possible return for themselves and their shareholders and that is a logic with which the Minister agrees. The Minister is leaving housing in the hands of private developers and private landlords by not intervening and he has handed them a gift on a plate.

People who live in Dublin and other cities will have noticed that student apartments are flying up. Of course we need student apartments but we also need homes for families and single people. Student apartments are proliferating and using up vital inner city land because of the yields and returns available. The project in Dún Laoghaire is a perfect example of fitting five units, rather than a two-bedroom unit, into a space.

These co-living units are not very different to bedsits. They have bathrooms but very few kitchens, no balconies or parking and crucially there is no obligation to provide the legally mandated 10% social housing that other developers must provide.

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