Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising these two important issues. The weakness and distortion in her presentation have to do with her use of the word that the two individual cases she has identified "typify" the Government's response. They do not typify the Government's response at all and she should know that well. By this I mean that the State itself is building and, through the approved social housing bodies, providing thousands and thousands of social homes and affordable homes as an overall proportion of the number of houses that are being built.

In 2021, non-household entities purchased 11,600 units, or 20% of the total units purchased, which was down from 22% in 2020 and 2019. When I say "non-household entities", this includes the State, approved housing bodies and private companies. The State accounts for the largest single share of purchases within the non-household category, at 32% of purchases by non-households. The institutional purchasers - this involves all units in terms of apartments - purchased just 9% of total units sold last year. First-time buyers accounted for 26% of all properties purchased in 2021. As I said earlier, more first-time buyers bought their first homes in the past 12 months than in any year since 2008. The State's purchases are largely concentrated in houses, with 66% of State purchases being houses.

Regarding Home Building Finance Ireland, HBFI, the Deputy will recall that, during Covid and as a direct response to the initial impact of Covid-19, HBFI launched a time-bound initiative - the momentum fund - to allow it to provide finance for larger prime residential projects that were experiencing difficulties at that time in accessing finance. This was an agile and time-bound response, which was in keeping with HBFI's mandate. It was a step-in initiative. The end date for the momentum fund approvals was 31 December 2021. As such, it does not typify, but it was a response that HBFI took at the time to try to make sure that supply continued and projects got finished. Overall, the only way we can resolve and make inroads into the housing issue is by supply.

In respect of the article in the Business Post, my understanding is that that was a fund that bought from a fund. It was not competing with first-time buyers in that case. Where units are already assigned to social housing with leases of 25 years, at the time of sale, these properties are required to remain in social housing for the entirety of their leases. Therefore, any subsequent sale of those properties would not be in competition with purchasers seeking a home, nor would it increase the cost to the State of leasing the units.

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