Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach has confirmed we will have an election in a matter of weeks, and with that, this Government’s disastrous handling of the housing crisis will be on the ballot. A vote for this Government will be a vote for record house prices, record rents, record homelessness and over 500,000 adults living in their childhood bedrooms. Every week, this crisis deepens and deteriorates. House prices are now rising by double digits, 10% per year. Nationally, first-time buyers are facing median house prices of €345,000 and a staggering €462,000 in Dublin.

Who can afford these kinds of prices and relentless increases? As soon as people think they have scraped and scrimped enough to buy, the prices change again and the goalposts shift. This is why people are losing hope. No matter how hard they work, save or try to do everything right, it is never enough. Every month, house prices climb even higher. Since this Government took office, median house prices have increased by €85,000. That is more than €20,000 added to the cost of a home every single year. Does the Taoiseach think people's salaries are increasing at that rate? Are teachers, nurses and gardaí, for example, getting their pay bumped by €20,000 a year? That is what they need just to stand still. To make matters worse and, frankly, just confusing, the Government keeps telling them its plan is working. It is only working if its plan is soaring house prices, and that is a plan that only works for developers and vulture funds.

Last week, the Social Democrats launched our affordable housing plan. It is fully costed, credible and deliverable. Under our plan, three-bedroom homes could be delivered in Dublin for less than €300,000 per year. In the rest of the country, prices would be below €260,000. The people buying these homes would own their home and the land it is built on. Affordable rental is also a key component of the plan. Over the term of the next Government, we would deliver 75,000 of these genuinely affordable homes. The Social Democrats want to go into government, not to make up the numbers but to treat housing like the emergency it is and to take radical action to address it. The Taoiseach said at the weekend that we need 60,000 homes a year. That has been obvious to everybody other than his Government for a long time. The key question is not the target but how we will get there and how people on average incomes will be able to buy them.

Does the Taoiseach think house price increases of more than €20,000 per year are sustainable or affordable in any way? Does he accept that Government policy is driving record house prices?

See this speech in context