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

No, it does not. That is the whole point and it is why the Deputy's arguments in the past couple of years around the approach taken to social housing by this Government and the party I lead have been so false. Tens of thousands more people are living in social housing than ten years ago and in percentage terms, there has been an increase as well. That is significant and it ought to be acknowledged more frequently. The people who make those false claims should be taken on by journalists, presenters and informed commentators.

We are seeing a real increase in the number of first-time buyers buying their first home. Again, it is nowhere near enough but 700 mortgages are being approved every week and 400 or 500 individuals and young couples are buying their first homes. It is great to see that. This is not happened by accident. It has happened because of Government policies that increase supply, such as waiving development levies, which the Opposition opposed; the help-to-buy scheme which helps people to get a deposit and which the Opposition wants to take away; and the first home scheme, which bridges the gap between the mortgage people can get and the cost of the home they want to buy. These are all things the Opposition wants to take away. I am absolutely certain that if there were a change of Government, within months, and certainly within a year or two, we would see the supply of new housing go down and the number of first-time buyers go down considerably because it would take away all of the things that are helping people at the moment, including the help-to-buy and first home schemes and the measures that encourage builders to build more. In my view, if there were a change of Government, the consequence would be that the good things about Ireland would go bad and the bad things about Ireland would become worse.

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