Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 137: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the action he intends to take to make housing more affordable for first time buyers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30945/06]

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 180: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the fact that house prices increased nationally by 11.4% for the first quarter of 2006; and the plans he has to control the rise of future house prices. [31005/06]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 201: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he intends to take action on foot of the Halifax report which finds that key public sector workers here, for example nurses, fire fighters, secondary and primary school teachers and Gardaí are unable to afford to purchase the average house in four out of five of Ireland's largest cities that is Dublin, Cork, Galway and Waterford, as earnings growth continues to lag well behind house price growth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30957/06]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 218: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the initiatives he intends to put in place to ensure that key workers can buy homes in the areas where they work, following the recent survey (details supplied) which revealed that workers such as teachers, nurses and Gardaí cannot afford to buy in the Country's main cities. [30887/06]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 137, 180, 201 and 218 together.

Increasing house prices and mortgage interest rates mean that a greater proportion of disposable income is now needed to meet mortgage payments. Despite this, affordability both nationally and in Dublin remains within the affordability limits now typically applied by lending institutions in deciding mortgage applications.

Over 45% of new house loans were taken out by first-time buyers last year. First-time buyers pay at least 13% below the average price for a new house and significantly less for second hand houses. In fact 90% of the houses bought by first-time buyers were below €350,000 nationally and 75% were below €350,000 in the Dublin area. My Department's affordability index reflects the position at the end of March this year for a couple on a combined income of just under €76,000, based on the average industrial and non-industrial wage. The mortgage outgoings of such a couple represent about 29% of their disposable income. This ratio would in fact be lower if account is taken of the longer loan periods which are now on offer from the lending institutions.

I am aware of recent research findings which suggest that the average mortgage is around 15 times the average public service income. This is simply not true. The data used in the research is based on the average price for second hand houses. The use of averages in this way is misleading as they include the price paid for highly sought after areas as well as houses with development land. The results therefore do not truly reflect the price paid by the average first time buyer.

More than half a million new homes have been provided since 1997. Almost 81,000 houses were built in 2005 compared to less than 31,000 ten years ago. In the first eight months of 2006, 58,613 houses and apartments were completed nationally. This represents an increase of 22.8% on the corresponding period in 2005. The increases in housing output have helped to restrain house price increases despite continued high demand. We are currently providing new homes at a much faster rate than other countries in the European Union.

My Department will continue to monitor developments in the housing market including trends in house prices. There is some recent evidence that growth rates are stabilising. The Government will also continue to focus on maintaining overall housing supply at a level consistent with the continuing strong demand through a range of instruments including investment in infrastructure, streamlining of planning and more effective use of land.

A number of measures to assist those who cannot access affordable housing without assistance have been put in place. These include the shared ownership scheme, the affordable housing scheme and affordable housing under Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000 – 2006. Eligibility and subsidy levels under the various schemes were increased in January 2006. In addition, the delivery of affordable housing in the Greater Dublin area, where affordability pressures are most acute, is being co-ordinated and accelerated by the Affordable Homes Partnership, which has made considerable progress since it was established by the Government just over a year ago.

The partnership agreement Towards 2016 has set an ambitious target of delivering some 17,000 affordable homes over the period 2007 to 2009. This represents a significant increase on the rate of output of affordable housing over the past three years and will make an important contribution to addressing affordability problems and to meeting the desire of buyers to live in the area in which they work. Investment of some €4 billion will be made under the various schemes over the next three years.