Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are further advance purchase schemes coming to us that are under consideration by me and the Department, because the affordable housing fund is open. It is an open call where we bring schemes forward, so the Deputy will see more than this being delivered. The Deputy will also see the first home scheme, which will support affordable purchases of new homes in the private market, and that will operate nationwide. It is targeted at first-time buyers or those eligible under the fresh start principle. The scheme will be delivered via a strategic partnership between the State and participating mortgage lenders and it will be launched in July. It will improve access to newly built homes by using a shared equity model to bridge the gap between the mortgage finance someone has and the finance that they need. I assume that, in the context of Cork, the Deputy will be advising his constituents and helping them to apply to the first home shared equity scheme, which he has criticised throughout this entire process.

It is going to work. We are going to deliver affordable homes through our local authorities and we are going to deliver affordable homes through the LDA. The Deputy’s party does not want the LDA to develop any homes. It does not even want the agency to plan to deliver homes. I hope that when the homes at St. Kevin's in Cork are opened, the Deputy will not turn up that day because his party did not want the LDA to even exist.

See this speech in context