Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

One of the biggest challenges we face as a country is to ensure that people can access housing that is affordable and secure. The peace of mind that comes from having somewhere people can call home, where they are not living in constant fear of the next rent rise or an eviction notice, is invaluable. Having a place that is home allows families to plan ahead and provides the stability and security that enables communities to thrive.

The lessons from Covid are clear. We need high-quality housing and sustainable communities with good infrastructure, amenities, parks, open spaces, schools and public transport. There must be no going back to the failed policies of subsidising private developers, which have been an abject failure. We must build public housing that is affordable to buy and rent on public land.

Let us be very clear. A housing crisis is exactly what we have. Almost 9,000 people have become homeless and are living in emergency accommodation. More than 2,500 children are living without the security of a place they call home, often in cramped conditions in hotel rooms. We are now spending €4 million every week on emergency accommodation for people who have become homeless. Increasingly, the Government is relying on private operators to provide emergency accommodation, where making a profit rather than providing support is the main objective. People who have become homeless are met by private security guards instead of qualified support staff and are subjected to dehumanising rules, including, in some instances, not being allowed to speak to other residents. There is a complete lack of independent inspection and regulation of these private operators. This budget continues the failed policy of putting millions of euro into the hands of private operators of emergency accommodation.

Renters in Ireland have faced some of the highest levels of rent increases in the European Union. Rents have increased by over 40% in the past 13 years, which is double the European average.

Rents have skyrocketed. The average rent in Dublin is now more than €2,000 a month, which puts a great strain on families, especially those working in lower-paid jobs. The very people who have kept this country running, kept our supermarket shelves stacked and supplied, cleaned our hospitals and looked after our elderly as care assistants continue to be put under great pressure with exorbitant rents. Rents cost more than mortgage repayments but many renters are locked out of buying a home. State payments and subsidies to private landlords to support low-income renters in insecure tenancies are fast approaching the €1 billion mark. These subsidies, which inflate rent levels, would be much better invested in an affordable rental model. This budget continues the failed policy of putting more and more money into subsidising high rents and private landlords. It makes paltry provision for cost-rental housing and will only fund 400 cost-rental homes. We need to show ambition and we need cost-rental housing to be delivered on scale.

Housing that is affordable to buy or rent remains beyond reach for many families. New homes provided by private developers are sold at approximately twice the build cost with land costs, professional fees, levies, taxes, developers' margins and profits accounting for the rest of the price. Construction costs in Ireland are higher than in other countries such as France and Germany. In the Netherlands, construction costs are 18% lower than in Ireland.

Mortgage costs in Ireland are also considerably higher than in other European countries. A family with a mortgage of €300,000 in Ireland will pay €80,000 more in interest than a family with a similar mortgage in Germany.

On top of this, only approximately 16,000 homes will be built this year when we need at least 35,000. The model of relying on private developers and speculative developers is broken. It does not work and it is abundantly clear that we need a change in direction. Instead of introducing a new model of direct-build affordable housing, this budget will put millions of euro in subsidies into the hands of private developers to maintain high prices through the shared equity scheme and other initiatives.

The shortage of social housing has caused havoc for people who are unable to afford increasing rents in the private rental sector and has led to unprecedented numbers of people becoming homeless. We are way off course to meet the Government's target of building 8,000 social homes this year. Less than 10% of the target number had been completed in the first half of the year. At the end of each calendar year, as the Government fails to meet its build targets, we see a large number of turnkey acquisitions for which the Government pays developers over the odds.

Likewise, the Government is paying over the odds for Part V social housing units. In one extreme example, developers sought to sell just 14 apartments to a local authority for more than €9 million. When it comes to providing social housing, long-term leasing is another win-win for developers with the State effectively paying the full cost for homes over a 25-year period while the developer retains full ownership. We need investment in social housing that is good value for money in the long term and we need to end the subsidies provided to developers through long-term leasing and turnkey acquisitions. This budget provides for fewer than 600 additional new social homes beyond those already announced in Rebuilding Ireland. This shows a complete lack of ambition.

We need a budget that works for people and families and which will give hope to those who are struggling to pay rent and who are living in fear of eviction and becoming homeless. We need a budget that will make housing affordable to buy and rent. Instead, we have today seen a budget with which developers will be happy. Developers asked and lobbied for more subsidies to support their model of housebuilding and land speculation and that is exactly what they got. Subsidies that go to private developers through shared equity schemes or grants for first-time buyers push prices upwards and keep house prices at levels that are out of reach and unaffordable for many, as my colleague, Deputy Shortall, has said. The approach that needs to be taken is one that drives down the cost of housing to make it affordable by tackling land costs and land speculation, cutting out developers' fees, profits and margins, and providing an affordable alternative to the private speculative model of housing.

There is no shortage of available funds as they can be borrowed at historically low interest rates to fund the construction of housing that is affordable to buy and rent. It is clear from this budget that there is, however, a shortage of political will when it comes to breaking the costly and expensive model of subsidising private developers. The Social Democrats believe that now is the time for an ambitious programme of public housing so that everybody can have a place to call home.

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