Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

People have spent years waiting not only on council housing lists but for an affordable housing policy. It has been years since there has been any such policy that would work for them. Having one's own home, a permanent place to live securely, is instrumental in people's lives. Without it, many things suffer. Countless life decisions are put off and other things are held up. There is a lack of security and employment and other issues are affected. People cannot wait any longer. Every week, I am contacted by people who cannot afford a mortgage from a bank but do not qualify for social housing or any other scheme.For those people, there are very few solutions or options. This must be an urgent priority. It is impossible for many to save for a mortgage while renting in Cork city. I looked at the daft.ie website this afternoon. The average rent is €1,300 or €1,400 but rents are much higher than that for average three-bedroom houses. Níl aon pholasai ag na daoine seo. They cannot afford to pay that kind of rent and save at the same time.

Now we have a Fianna Fáil housing Minister. He promises affordable housing at long last but with a programme for Government that has no detail or costing or that even tells us what affordable means. Every year during the previous Government, Fianna Fáil promised it would extract a housing budget from Fine Gael and each year it failed to do so. The previous Government failed to deliver a single affordable house under any Government scheme.

This motion outlines what is plainly necessary. Affordable cannot be just a label; it must be meaningful. It cannot mean a home is just marginally cheaper than it would be if it was delivered through the private sector. It must bring housing within the reach of those who cannot afford it now. Recent Governments have completely failed to do that and people are beginning to lose hope. The motion before us shows how this can be done, how we can deliver homes for people who are currently locked out of the housing market through cost rental and cost purchase. I urge the new Minister to take the opportunities before him alongside significant challenges. I urge him to take on board the policy in the draft circular, and not oppose it for party political reasons. He should take on board good constructive proposals from the Opposition and implement them. People cannot wait any longer for the chance of a permanent home and the security it offers.

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