Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ó Broin as an rún seo.

It is clear that the Government's affordable purchase scheme is failing, yet the Minister is here trying to keep the charade going. House prices are continuing to spiral out of control, increasing by 10% in the past year alone. The Government's so-called affordable purchase homes, with prices ranging from €365,000 to €560,000, are nothing short of unaffordable for ordinary working people. Even worse, if a person manages to buy one of these so-called affordable homes, the State retains a section that will cost him or her many thousands of euro more. The result will be people working 25 to 30 years to pay off a mortgage only to still owe the State up to 30% of the house's future market value when it is sold or passed on to children. That is not affordable housing; it is a housing con.

The Minister has some neck to be critical of our affordable housing policy, which, by its design, will ensure that affordable housing remains affordable housing for its duration. Sinn Féin can deliver 25,000 genuinely affordable homes over the next five years at prices of approximately €250,000. The State would cover the cost of the land, utilities and levies, ensuring houses are genuinely affordable and without any hidden equity charges or penalties for future generations, unlike the Minister's scheme.

I will briefly mention so-called affordable renting. In January 2024, the Land Development Agency launched a so-called affordable housing scheme on Harpur Lane in Leixlip in my constituency of Kildare North. One-bedroom apartments were available at a monthly rent of €1,357. That is a cost of €1,357 for a so-called affordable one-bedroom apartment. This Government has failed to provide affordable housing; all it is providing is a con job. Sinn Féin has a clear alternative. We are the only alternative if people want a home of their own without the wallop of a bill at the end of paying off a mortgage.

See this speech in context