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

The Housing for All policy was launched by the Government to a big fanfare. However, the policy would be better called "Housing for the few and not the many". Since the policy launch, people and independent experts have had a chance to examine the details of the proposals and concluded that those proposals are problematic and, in areas, do not add up. For example, Social Justice Ireland has criticised the targets set by the Housing for All policy of 33,000 new homes every year, as well as 90,000 social homes over the period from 2021 to 2030. These targets were established from housing need and demand assessments, HNDAs, and from research conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI. Social Justice Ireland rightly contends the data from these targets indicates they are insufficient to meet the needs and that substantial numbers of the social housing targets will be delivered through the private sector using HAP.

This housing plan is developer-led and we have seen in the past how a reliance on the private sector was a central factor in the housing crash which, in turn, led to the economy crashing. It would not be an exaggeration to say this Government's housing plan is heading in the direction of only one long-term outcome, and that is the crash of the economy, similar to what we experienced in the past.

This policy also shows there is a wide gap between what the Government regards as affordable and what is realistically affordable for the ordinary person. The only people who will be happy with the shared equity scheme will be developers. Deputies would have to be blinkered not to see the scheme will inflate prices and increase developer profits to the detriment of the would-be home purchaser. The Minister needs to take on board the legitimate criticisms, not just from Sinn Féin, but from housing experts and other bodies.

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