Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach will be aware that there are very significant intergenerational issues in respect of home ownership. Will he take measures to promote downsizing by people? In Ireland, 70% of us live in homes that are larger than our needs, which is more than double than in the rest of Europe. For people in my age bracket, 90% of us live in houses larger than our needs. That means that every year 2 million bedrooms are empty at a time there is a crisis. The reality is that if someone seeks to downsize, everything is stacked against that person. He or she will lose out if he or she releases money and then has to move into a nursing home as every penny of it will then be taken and the person will not get the relief that would apply. Few options are being developed for people who want to downsize by our councils or by our planners.

As to planning, if one wants to adapt one’s home to make it into two homes, it is very hostile to this. There is no favourable tax treatment, particularly for acquisitions. In short, we are locking people in to homes that are often larger than their needs.

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