Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State said the provision of public land would be of no cost. I would assume it would be of no cost because it is public land. It should not add to the cost of building homes on it. I want to go to the Minister of State’s figures. There is a maximum threshold of €53,000 to qualify for affordable housing. A combined income of €53,000 in a home where two people work would mean they would both have to be on just above the minimum wage to meet that threshold of €53,000. This makes a joke of what is being attempted.

I remember in 2008 when Bernard McNamara, the previous public private partnership developer who was to develop St. Michael's estate pulled out of the scheme. The people protested at City Hall saying, “greed, greed, how much do you need, Mr. McNamara?” Here, we have to be very careful. When we look at what is affordable for ordinary people on low incomes, we have to take into account their lives, their ability to pay and the sort of communities they want to live in, not the profit margins of the developers. This is why I quoted those figures at the beginning. The State has a fundamental role in financing such developments so that people can live quality and rooted lives in their communities.

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