Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I am afraid I have not had a chance to see the report yet. I have seen some media coverage of it but I have not read it myself. It is not my practice to comment on a report until I have had a chance to read it or at least read the executive summary, which I have not at this stage. It seems the premise of the Deputy's question is the report must be correct and therefore things are definitely going to turn out that way. I definitely do not accept that. How things turn out will depend on a number of factors, including what happens with our economy with respect to wages, employment and many other things and also what happens with housing policy. So I am not sure whether that report is predictive or not but it certainly does not have to be.

One thing I absolutely agree with the Deputy on is that house prices in Ireland are very high. They are too high and are out of reach for very many people who are not able build a home. The most effective thing we can do to bring prices under control is additional supply. Supply on its own will not bring down house prices but we will not bring down prices without additional supply because there is a very high demand for housing in a country with a growing population and a population in which new households are being formed all the time. Supply is therefore the crucial element of bringing house prices under control but not the only element. We need additional supply because of the huge deficit of housing we have due to our having had a prolonged period where very few homes were built due to the collapse of the banking system and the construction sector over ten years ago. We need homes of all types. We need social housing for people on the housing list. That also helps free up homes for others to rent and buy. We need public housing, such as cost rental, which is now happening for the first time. Government-led affordable housing schemes which were not happening years ago are happening now. There is additional private housing as well. We need homes of all types, including one-beds, two-beds and more but we especially need one- and two-beds, given the shape of our population relative to the type of housing available.

It is encouraging we are seeing an increase in housing supply in the past 12 months, notwithstanding the fact we are experiencing a pandemic and there have been restrictions on supplies and construction. About 30,000 new homes have gone to construction in the past year. That is really encouraging because we know from reports we need to get to around 35,000 or 40,000 additional homes per year for supply to meet demand. It seems we are getting there. It will be a while before we get there but it seems we are getting there. I know the Deputy will want to join me in recognising the fact we have seen a very big increase in the supply of new homes in recent years, notwithstanding the objections of some to many of those developments.

This Government is committed to homeownership, as is my party. We have set a target of trying to get back to 70% homeownership in the State. Sinn Féin does not agree with that target. If it does then I am sure Deputy Ó Broin will say so. How do we do it? There is the help-to-buy scheme, which he opposes. I disagree with him. Between 20,000 and 30,000 young people, families, couples and single people who have been helped to get their deposit with that scheme would not agree with the Deputy. It would be a shame if a Sinn Féin-led Government were to take that away because we think it has helped many people to buy their first home. The shared equity loan scheme is going to become a reality. The Deputy may oppose it but people in his constituency and mine will vote with their feet in their hundreds and take up this scheme. Instead of paying a lot of rent every month they are going to be paying a mortgage towards a home they can buy. Another area is the Rebuilding Ireland home loan or the local authority home loan. This gives people a mortgage when they cannot get one from the banks. Again, that is a very successful scheme and one we need to expand. The fourth aspect is of course supply. Ultimately, we will not get house prices under control or increase homeownership unless we have adequate supply. That is why I appeal once again to the Deputy's party to stop opposing housing developments and to support them, because that is what people need.

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