Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann: notes that:

— house prices continue to spiral out of control with prices for new homes up 9 per cent last year;

— rents are also rising and have increased by 9 per cent for new tenancies and 6 per cent for existing renters in the last year;

— the Government missed their new build social housing target by 11 per cent last year;

— the Government missed their cost-rental and affordable purchase target by over 60 per cent last year;

— the Government missed their vacant property refurbishment grant target by 83 per cent last year; and

— as a consequence, thousands of social and affordable homes that were promised by the Government were not delivered;

further notes that, as a consequence of these failures:

— homelessness is continuing to increase month-on-month, up 13 per cent in the last 12 months;

— a growing number of young people are being forced to emigrate;

— a growing number of adults are forced to live at home with their parents;

— a growing number of people in their 40s, 50s and 60s are trapped in an expensive and insecure private rental sector; and

— an entire generation are locked out of affordable home ownership, and this is impacting on the economy and the delivery of public services;

furthermore, notes that:

— it is both possible and necessary to deliver homes at prices that working people can actually afford;

— this means selling new homes to eligible purchasers at prices less than €300,000, depending on size and location;

— under Sinn Féin's affordable leasehold purchase scheme:

— the State pays for all land and site servicing related costs and retains ownership of the land, and makes a further contribution, where necessary, to guarantee affordable prices and development levies are waived;

— the purchaser buys the home, at or near the full cost of construction;

— the purchaser, through a legally binding covenant, is given free indefinite use of the land which is transferable to subsequent generations of their family; and

— the purchaser is free to sell the home to another eligible affordable purchaser at the future affordable purchase price;

— the benefit of this approach is twofold, firstly, it reduces the initial purchase price of the home, and secondly, it ensures permanent affordability for subsequent buyers; and

— the aim, over time, is to create a market of privately owned, privately traded and permanently affordable homes;

agrees that:

— the best way to address the affordable housing crisis is with the delivery of an ambitious programme of affordable leasehold purchase homes;

— this would require the delivery of affordable leasehold purchase homes at scale;

— this must be delivered as part of the most ambitious public housing programme in the history of the State, including increased delivery of social, affordable, cost-rental and affordable leasehold purchase homes to meet wider social and affordable housing needs; and

— only a general election, a change of Government and a change of housing plan can deliver such an ambitious programme.

I will begin by reminding the House of the election promises made by the Minister for housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. In the general election of 2020, the Minister will remember that he made a clear commitment in respect of affordable housing. He said that if elected to serve in government, his party would deliver 50,000 affordable purchase homes at prices below €250,000. This is probably the greatest of the many housing promises broken by Fianna Fáil since taking office.

On his appointment to office, the Minister gave a series of interviews with radio stations in which he stated that there were going to be homes valued at or below €250,000 right across the country. In fact, he promised a plan before budget 2021 and then after it. As he knows, it was more than a year until he published that plan. Amazingly, gone was the promise of 50,000 homes at prices of €250,000 or less. In his first full year in office between 2020 and 2021, not a single affordable home to purchase was delivered by the Minister. By the end of 2020, there was not a single affordable purchase home. How many affordable purchase homes were delivered in 2022 under his plan? The answer is 323. How many affordable purchase homes were delivered in 2023? There were just 499. What is worse than the paltry number of homes delivered is the fact that the vast majority of them are not even affordable.

When I buy something, I want to know the full price. I do not just want to know what I will pay in the first instalment, I want to know price I will pay at the end. In almost every single scheme that this Minister has introduced under the affordable housing fund, the full price of the home is more than €300,000. In many cases ,the full price is even higher. In Clonburris in my constituency, the full price of the so-called affordable homes is €425,000. In Belcamp, Dublin 17, the full price is €475,000. In the Paddocks in Donabate, the full price is €500,000. The full price of a house on Station Road in Lusk is €565,000. Let that sink in for a second. On what planet is €565,000 affordable? If house prices rise, then, as the Minister knows, under the scheme the total amount that has to be paid also rises. If that is not paid back, the homeowner's children are penalised on inheritance because they inherit the debt. What the Minister has done is, once again, taken an eminently sensible idea and mangle it beyond belief. That is why people do not have trust in this Government on housing.

Meanwhile, house prices continue to rise. It is not just that the cost of a new house increased by 9% in the past year; the rate of increase is also accelerating. The average price of a new house is €330,000. It is almost impossible to buy a new house in Dublin for anything less than €400,000. The Minister’s reckless policies are pushing up house prices. It has never been harder to buy a home. That is why homeownership under his watch continues to decline, with the consequences of insecurity, hardship and immigration for tens of thousands of people.

Thankfully, there is an alternative. In 2021, we published a detailed policy document setting that out. We showed it is possible to deliver affordable purchase homes by local authorities and approved housing bodies at prices below €300,000. The Minister knows it is possible. He promised it before he was in government but then reneged on that promise.

How do you do it? It is done by separating the cost of land, site servicing, utilities and development levies from the cost of construction. The State pays the first and retains ownership - the Minister knows the policy very well - and the homeowner buys the home. The homeowner owns the home. It is theirs to alter and they can pass it on to future generations. The State gives them free, indefinite use of public land with reasonable restrictions to ensure not only affordability for the first public purchaser, but for every subsequent purchaser. Such a policy creates, year on year, a growing volume of privately owned, privately traded but permanently affordable homes.

The motion sets out very clearly Sinn Féin’s commitment if elected to serve in government. We would deliver tens of thousands of affordable purchase homes through that scheme. They would range between €250,000 and €300,000 with no hidden equity charge, no penalty for a person’s children, no loss of public land to private landlords and developers. There is no unearned windfall gain, just good quality affordable homes that working people can afford.

The Minister has broken his promises too many times. People will not be fooled again. His time is up and it is time for a Government that will deliver genuinely affordable homes, at prices working people can afford. It is time for a Sinn Féin Government. I commend the motion to the House.

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