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

Of course, the big difference between our scheme and the Government's scheme is that in ours, the purchaser pays €250,000 and owns the home outright. Under the Government’s scheme, they will pay €550,000.

The Minister still has not answered my simple question, which I will put again as plainly as I can. I suspect he knows the answer but does not have the courage to state it on the Dáil record. Why is the Government charging a family to purchase a three-bedroom unit at Shanganagh Castle €550,000 to own the home outright, when the cost to the State, that is, the cost to the Land Development Agency, is €440,000? Why on earth would it add a further €100,000 by pegging it to a fictional open-market value, rather than say it cost the Land Development Agency €440,000 to deliver the home, apply an affordable housing fund subsidy and sell it at €350,000, and if the family want to own it outright, they can buy it for €450,000? Why is the Government charging them more than the cost of delivery if they want to own the home outright by, in this instance, an additional €100,000?

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