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

The Deputy will appreciate we are just a week from the budget and negotiations and discussions on expenditure for next year are at a crucial stage. I am not, therefore, in a position to give him any further details. This is not by way of being evasive; it is just an issue of timing. There are other measures, including affordability measures, that help people buy homes, one of them being the help-to-buy grant that I have supported in opposition and in government. The Deputy opposed the help-to-buy grant, which more than 19,000 people have used to get on to the housing ladder. Many of these people would not have been able to do so without it. We know there is an affordability issue and supply is key to delivering affordability. This year will be very challenging on supply in the overall housing market. We are looking at between 16,000 and 18,000 completions. As demand grows and supply lessens, there will be acute affordability issues next year and measures will need to be taken to assist people. This is what we are committed to doing.

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