Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In a major homelessness and housing crisis, the Government has put forward a solution to these chronic problems by putting in place a scheme that is restrictive in its design and prevents the family home from being passed on to children. If the Minister had an opportunity to develop a policy or scheme to tackle the housing crisis, in particular the general lack of affordable housing, why did he bring out a scheme that is obviously so flawed? The Government's view of an affordable house is at total variance with the reality of what the majority of people can actually afford and even with what is available in general in the housing market at the moment in terms of cost.

Buyers in one of the first such schemes in Dublin have discovered that they would have to pay up to €475,000 for a three-bedroom home, which is almost €170,000 more than the expected cost when city councillors approved the scheme in 2021. We saw it with a number of houses in Oscar Traynor Woods in Coolock, which cost up to 55% more than originally indicated. This also meant those who wanted to purchase a home - purchasers who had incomes exceeding €106,000 - could still qualify as eligible for affordable housing subsidies. The greatest flaw in the design of the scheme, however, is that the purchasers never fully own their property because the State equity has to be fully paid. This is an unnecessary burden on the purchaser who has to pay a mortgage in parallel with paying off the State equity, which if not fully paid will be deducted from the future market value of the house by up to 30%. After 40 years, the local authority can ask for repayment of the equity. This scheme is not a step in the direction of resolving the housing crisis. It puts families under unnecessary financial strain and redefines property ownership in a decidedly adverse way.

The Sinn Féin housing plan, A Home of Your Own, keeps the family home in the family and, more important, house prices realistically affordable.

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