Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the previous speaker. There is a raft of housing legislation coming through the House and sometimes it can be very difficult for people watching to know how all of it will benefit them. I will not trade political arguments in the Chamber but will try to explain to people out there who need help, and cannot afford to buy or rent a home, what this Bill does. It is the first comprehensive affordable housing Bill the State has brought in. It will effectively take public land, build homes on it and make them available, in some cases, below the cost of producing those homes. It will mean that, once again, local authorities can build affordable housing and provide mixed estates. It will make sure we can build communities. I want young people to know the Government is building affordable housing on public land using the Bill.

We are making a new form of affordable cost rental available. We have heard about the Vienna housing model and what happens in other European cities.

With this Bill we will build apartments. If somebody does not qualify for social housing, we will ensure that he or she can access cost rental. The person will have below-market rents for all his or her life, a secure tenure below the cost of renting. It will mean a person will have security to rent if he or she is unable to get a mortgage and does not qualify for social housing. That is the case with public sites - we are building public housing on public lands. On private land, we are increasing the obligation of developers from 10% to 20%. We want to ensure there is more affordable housing on those sites. For the first time, Part V will now include affordable and social housing.

The last point is that for many people all these measures will still take up to three years to come to fruition. I am sure the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is conscious of that. I am conscious of it. It will not happen overnight because building homes cannot happen overnight. In the meantime, there is a scheme that will allow people to buy new homes now so they can access housing. The State will effectively give them a five-year, interest-free loan of 20% of the cost of the house. It means that a couple with a combined income of €70,000 will be able to purchase a home for approximately €350,000. Do we believe that is affordable? No, but we are helping. What is affordable is the schemes I mentioned previously, whereby we will provide homes for between €160,000 and €300,000.

All of these are practical measures that are going to help people and couples. It will mean there will be more affordable housing. When the review of the national development plan takes place this summer, we will put our money where our mouth is and invest significantly in the provision of homes. That is what the Government should do. Helping people who have been locked out of other schemes to buy a home not only helps society but also our economy. It ensures that we are competitive and that we have a compassionate society and sustainable communities.

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