Seanad debates

Tuesday, 20 September 2022

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

 

2:30 pm

Photo of Pat CaseyPat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A recurring theme is budget 2023, and the single crisis facing us is the cost of living, whether that be for an individual, family, household, community or business. If we can support businesses, we can support employment and a family income. My issue is the second biggest issue in the State, namely, housing, affordable housing and providing pathways to affordability and aspiring to your own home. One of the key measures in that has been the help to buy scheme, which has proven hugely successful for families aspiring to own their homes. More than 32,000 families have availed of the scheme and are living in their homes. In my constituency of Wicklow, 1,354 families are living in their homes because of the help to buy scheme. While the scheme is under review, it is imperative it is maintained in budget 2023. It might need to be tweaked to get over some of the anomalies but it must be maintained, and I am asking the Leader to have a word with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to ensure the help to buy scheme is maintained in budget 2023. We all follow the aspiration of owning our own home, and the help to buy scheme has proven to be a critical pathway to homeownership, which must be maintained.

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