John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is plainly a scheme designed by property developers for property developers. It is nothing more than a regurgitation of failure. A similar scheme was attempted in Britain by the Tories. All that succeeded in accomplishing was pushing up property prices. The ESRI and the Central Bank have made it known that they have concerns, as have county councillors and Deputies from the Minister's party and the other Government parties. Yet, those in Fianna Fáil seems consumed with a form of cognitive dissonance of the type which allows them to imagine that a repeat of the failures that led to the property crash in 2008 can somehow lead to a different outcome in the world of today. The only real difference between Fianna Fáil's approach during the previous property crash and now is that today the Government is asking the taxpayer to get in hock for millions from the outset rather than what happened previously, when those responsible were content to wait until they had destroyed the country's financial well-being and lumbered the ordinary workers of this country with a debt that will burden their families for generations to come.

In my county of Wicklow people simply cannot afford to rent or purchase at current price levels. The fact is that this Fianna Fáil scheme does not and will not make houses more affordable. It will simply push up prices. Outside of Dublin, Wicklow has the most expensive house prices anywhere in the entire State. This has resulted in the breaking up of communities and in families being forced to live apart as well as losing their close supports and sense of place in the communities where they grew up. They have had to leave in search of more affordable accommodation farther south in Wexford and farther afield.

This scheme fails to address specifically those with the most need. Yet again, those in Fianna Fáil are asking us to put in place a scheme for the benefit of their developer mates. This is a bad scheme and I am calling on all Deputies from across the political spectrum to support the motion, reject the scheme and put in place a proper affordable scheme that will address the housing needs of our citizens.

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