Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Leis an Rialtas seo, tá praghsanna tithe imithe tríd an díon agus tá úinéireacht tí anois níos deacra agus níos deacra agus níos faide ar shiúl do ghlúnta ár ndaoine. Léirigh tuarascáil an lae inniu ó Chumann na Seirbhéirí Cairte go bhfuil ardú de bhreis is €90,000 tagtha ar chostais tithíochta nua i mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath amháin, ó tháinig an Rialtas in oifig trí bliana ó shin.

Today's report by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland on the cost of new housing delivery lays bare the depths of the housing crisis. The cost of new-build homes has gone through the roof. In the greater Dublin area which includes Counties Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, the average cost of a new-build home is now more than €461,000, an increase of €90,000 since you and your Government took office three years ago. Average earnings in Dublin alone are less than €37,000 which means that the vast majority of workers and families in the greater Dublin area have no chance, no hope, of being able to afford to purchase a new-build home under this Government. It also extends beyond Dublin. The average cost of a new home in Cork now stands at €433,000 and on it goes throughout the State.

This reflects the abject failure of the Government's housing plan because you have not turned a corner. As the prices of new builds go through the roof, housing is becoming less affordable year by year with workers and families locked out. That is why home ownership is falling under the Government. This comes just a week after we learned that new rents have soared by 12% in the past year with tenants now forking out an average of €4,000 more per year to their landlord since you took office three years ago. If we turn to the Government's record on delivery, on affordable purchase homes the results are equally damning with zero affordable homes delivered in 2020, zero affordable homes delivered in 2021, only 323 homes delivered in 2022 and only 101 affordable homes delivered in the first half of this year. Are they even affordable? In areas of south Dublin, the price of these affordable purchase homes range between €408,000 and €435,000.

Judging by this record it seems that everybody knows that we are in the grip of a housing crisis except this Government. Is it any wonder that the Banking and Payment Federation's latest mortgage report found that the average first-time buyer's age has risen to 35, the oldest since records began. Is it any wonder that home ownership is falling under your Government? Is it any wonder that generations of our people are losing hope and looking to build a life and future abroad?

Today's findings by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland lays bare the failure of this Government's housing policies. House prices continue to rise, homes are less affordable, rents continue to soar and home ownership is becoming more difficult, more distant and more expensive for an entire generation. What is the Minister's response to today's report? What responsibility does he take for this staggering rise and house costs? What is he going to do to change direction and deliver affordable homes for workers and families? This is happening on his watch. He is the Minister for housing who is overseeing the largest increases in rents since records began. House prices have gone up by €90,000 since he took office. In the greater Dublin area, a family now needs to have a joint income of €127,000 to be able to purchase a home. That is why homeownership is dropping under his Government. That is why his plan is failing. That is why people are giving up hope in him and his Government.

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