Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have two minutes. The number one issue for people my age is access to affordable housing. This Government will change that through four new initiatives: the shared equity services scheme; building local authority affordable homes; the first ever cost rental long-term leasing initiative; and the extension of the Part V clause to include 10% affordable housing.

Last year, housing supply was less than 60% of what was needed. That one statistic is why so many families are going through such trauma right now. It is why 35 is now the average age of first-time buyers. It is why we need to stimulate supply.

That is exactly what this shared equity scheme will do. It will take less than 2% of our national housing budget and invest it in a short-term measure that will increase supply and enable young people, young couples and young families the opportunity to own their own homes.

Right now, there is planning permission for 40,000 homes in Dublin alone. Yet, planning permission is no use to house hunters. They need planning permission applications turned into actual homes. That is what this aspect of the Bill aims to achieve.

It is easy to sit on the sidelines and criticise. It is easy to oppose measures like the help-to-buy scheme, a scheme that has enabled over 19,000 to get a foot on the property ladder. It is easy to tweet soundbites. What is not so easy is to put together complex plans that will boost housing supply and bridge the affordability gap for young people.

I do not believe public housing is the answer. I believe that a combination of social and affordable and private housing is the answer. No scheme will ever be perfect but waiting on the sidelines and opposing every Government idea will not deliver a single new home. Instead, we need to look at devising, investing in and implementing different initiatives with different intents. These include initiatives like the help-to-buy scheme for first time buyers, the Rebuilding Ireland home loan for those struggling to get a mortgage, cost rental provision for those who want secure long-term affordable leases and, crucially, affordable housing for all the people my age who want to be able to aspire to own their own homes. That is difficult and complex but it is what this Government's Affordable Housing Bill and the Land Development Agency Bill will do.

See this speech in context