Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom tacaíocht a thabhairt don Bhille seo ó mo chomrádaí, an Teachta Ó Broin. I thank the Deputy for bringing forward this important Bill. It is vital that every means be utilised to build social and affordable housing. This Bill ensures, first, that developers are not exempted from providing social and affordable housing under the Part V provisions and, in addition, that 20% of any housing development must be social and affordable housing. The sunset clause that was put in place to allow developers who secure planning permission before 2026 to provide only 10% social housing in a new development is greatly flawed. We said that at the time. The removal of the exemption will bring thousands of additional homes onto the market that otherwise would not be available.

The Dublin City Council housing waiting list for Dublin North-West, particularly for areas such as Ballymun and Finglas, remains a very serious issue. It has resulted in many families and individuals falling into homelessness. With increasing numbers on the housing waiting lists and many waiting a decade or more for a house, it is even more important that priority be given to increasing the number of social and affordable housing builds. Affordable housing has been delivered by the Ó Cualann housing organisation at a cost of approximately €200,000 for a three-bedroom home.

This serves as a good model of real, affordable housing. However, the Government's idea of what is affordable will cost between €350,000 and €400,000, and that is not realistic. In addition, rents in the private sector have gone sky-high. A great proportion of an individual's income goes on rent, which is an average of €2,000 per month for accommodation in the Dublin North-West constituency. The Bill would go a long way to giving those who are looking to get onto the property ladder or who are in need of social housing some hope for the future.

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