Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

-----and into homes. It is new money of €100 million that has not yet been spent in 2026. Do not mislead the people. The Deputy will accept it is €100 million for 2026 that has not yet been spent. That will need to be repeated each year during the lifetime of this plan. There is a new performance fund to incentivise local authorities to exceed their annual own-build social house targets. Targets are not the ceiling. They need to go further, drive on and do more.

There is a starter home programme delivering an average of 15,000 affordable home supports per year for families, including many schemes which, quite frankly, the Deputy would scrap. Under Sinn Féin, the help to buy and first home schemes would be gone, first home owners would be abandoned, restrictions would be made to the vacant and derelict property grant, the Land Development Agency would be abolished despite the fact it is now delivering real homes for real people across our country. Restrictions Sinn Féin would put in place would mean a garda married to a nurse in the fourth year of their jobs would not be able to access supports under Sinn Féin’s so-called affordable home scheme. We had the election and Sinn Féin’s proposals were rejected. We are getting on with the job.

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