Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Government’s commitment. One particular group to whom I have committed to being a strong voice in the House is those prospective purchasers who find themselves falling between the supports.

They are those individuals, couples and families who are outside the social housing income limits. Their income is over those limits so they do not qualify for social housing. Affordable housing really should be the vehicle for them to gain home ownership. Unfortunately, we find in many cases that they are not able to avail of the affordable housing schemes simply because they are not affordable enough for them. This issue has been raised previously but we need to provide some assistance to those individuals and families. The affordable housing scheme needs to be reviewed. We need to make it more affordable as well as increasing overall targets and improving our delivery. It has to be accessible and affordable. We have to deal with the cohort who are not currently getting support from Government. I know the programme for Government addresses this but I would like to see it happen at the earliest possible time.

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