Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Funnily enough, despite Sinn Féin's public pronouncements on the Government schemes, I regularly receive parliamentary questions from many of Deputy Ó Broin's colleagues in Sinn Féin asking for enhancements to the schemes they say they will scrap. What this Government has proved is that our plan, Housing for All, now in its third year of implementation, is working in bringing affordability to the housing market. Housing for All and the Affordable Housing Act 2021 have put in place the schemes and the funding to allow the Government to intervene and support households on average wages who are currently priced out of the new housing market.

The Government is providing €5.1 billion in 2024 to accelerate delivery of new homes, increase the supply and moderate house and rental prices. This is bearing fruit. Some 128,000 homes were added to or brought back into the national housing stock between January 2020 and the end of quarter 2 of 2024, including more than 116,000 new build homes, 1,800 units in unfinished housing developments that have been built out and approximately 10,000 vacant properties brought back into use. The number of mortgage drawdowns - real mortgages - by first-time buyers is growing, with first-time buyer drawdowns reaching a new peak of almost 26,000 in 2023. That is the highest level since 2007.

On the issue of affordability, 8,500 affordable housing supports have been delivered since the launch of Housing for All via approved housing bodies, local authorities, the Land Development Agency, which Sinn Féin would scrap, the first home scheme, which Sinn Féin would scrap, and cost rental tenants in situ and the vacant property refurbishment grant, which Sinn Féin would restrict. These are supports that did not exist three years ago. Is it enough? No. Will we do more? Of course we will. Yes, we will. With a continued strong performance in the second half of 2024, the Government is on track to meet and exceed delivery of our affordable homes target of 6,400 this year. I do not say this lightly, but the alternative plan Sinn Féin has brought forward is dangerous and full of uncertainties.

See this speech in context