Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response and thank all the contributors to the debate. It is possible to deliver homes at €300,000 or under, depending on size and location. Under Sinn Féin’s affordable housing scheme, councils and housing bodies will build homes that people can buy or at near the cost of construction, excluding the land-related costs. This can be done by building on public land and getting the State to cover all land-related costs, including site works and development, utility connections, land and land finance. Our scheme would be open to those with a gross household income of up to €85,000, those who are currently locked out of the housing market. We will only fix this housing crisis by bringing down the cost of homes and by increasing supply. Sinn Féin’s new affordable housing scheme will deliver tens of thousands of homes over five years as part of the biggest social and affordable house-building programme in the history of the State.

The vacant property refurbishment grants have been mentioned by many. As of February, just 127 were drawn down by home owners since the scheme came into effect.