Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

-----and therefore almost none to buy.

Of course, all of this has happened not by accident but by design. That is why, as far as so many people are concerned, the Taoiseach's professed belief in homeownership rings utterly hollow. A 2021 Dublin Inquirerreport revealed that between 2018 and 2020 more than half of homes granted planning permission in Dublin city were build-to-rent units and that number has only increased since. This will not come as a surprise to anyone living in the city, where the disastrous results of developer-led standards, mandatory ministerial guidelines and the failed strategic housing development, SHD, process are all too apparent. The introduction of separate build-to-rent standards, spearheaded by successive Fine Gael Ministers, was one of the most reckless changes to national planning policy. While it is welcome that these lower standards have finally been scrapped, they will have a lasting effect. For example, according to Dublin City Council figures, build-to-rent units are expected to account for almost 80% of developer-provided social housing in Dublin city by 2024. This is the most costly way of procuring social housing, while creating a massive cash cow for developers. The same can be said about many of the schemes that the Minister has been bragging about, which are providing housing in the most costly way. Everything the Minister does is about subsidies for developers. It is time he got real about this and set out to drive down the cost of housing. That is the fundamental problem. He needs to deal with the land issue at the root of that and drive down the cost of housing. That is what is required.

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