Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I stood here almost two years ago speaking on a Sinn Féin motion on the need to respect the demands of Irish people and to do something, anything, to mend the utterly broken system that is the Irish housing market. Housing was one of the biggest issues in the 2020 general election and the new Government made a great deal of noise about the delivery of affordable housing. Two years later, we are asking where the promised housing is. The Government's affordable housing targets lack ambition, as many contributors have said. The poor delivery is not the fault of councils or councillors, but of a Government that could not deliver an affordable and workable affordable housing scheme.

As the Minister knows, affordable is not affordable in many areas. We need at least 4,000 affordable homes per year, not the 7,000 every five years in the current plan. South Dublin County Council, which is my area, will only see approximately 230 affordable homes per year. Schemes in Killinarden, Clonburris and Rathcoole had over 3,000 expressions of interest. In just one estate, 297 couples wanted to be considered for 16 houses. The demand is there, but we are not meeting it. Affordable housing would serve to normalise the housing market, take people out of the rental market and bring house prices down for everyone. Many just cannot afford to buy or to rent, so what are they to do? There is no way that the majority of young people in my area could afford to buy a home. If one is paying obscene rents and the cost of living is rising, average incomes are not enough. If one is lucky enough to get a deposit together, one then has to get in ahead of the investment firms that can outbid anybody with their unlimited funds.

Two years into the Government's term, we need a massive house building programme on public lands and a scheme that delivers affordable housing to people who need it. Handouts to big developers who deliver overpriced homes will do nothing for struggling home buyers or hard-pressed taxpayers. We need a change from the Minister.

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