Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)

The Minister can criticise Sinn Féin’s housing plan all he wants, but I am going to be straight with him. I live in the real world, and the prices of affordable houses in my own area in Dublin Mid-West are simply not affordable. I will give some examples. A two-bedroom affordable home in Clonburris costs €380,000. A three-bed affordable home on the same scheme costs €418,000 and a four-bedroom affordable home costs €465,000. How is this affordable? Pop up the road to Saggart, another part of Dublin Mid-West, a three-bedroom affordable home costs a whopping €494,000, almost €500,000 for an affordable house under the Government's affordable housing scheme. I do not know what planet the Minister is living on, but €500,000 is simply not affordable to ordinary workers and families who are trying to put a roof over their head.

I have a simple question: does the Minister think that €500,000 is an affordable price for a house under the Government's affordable housing scheme?

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