Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Faoin Rialtas seo, tá an ghéarchéim tithíochta imithe ó olcas go dtí rudaí níos measa. Sampla eile don teip seo ná an scéal an tseachtain seo go gcosnóidh tithe inacmhainne, tithe ar phraghas réasúnta, ar Bhóthar Oscair Mhic Thréinir sa Chúlóg, suas le €475,000. Tá ag teipthe ar an Rialtas tithe inacmhainne a sholáthar agus is teip arís é seo ó thaobh polasaí tithíochta an Rialtais atá ag déanamh rudaí níos deacra do go leor daoine.

The Tánaiste is aware that under this Government house prices have soared and home ownership is falling. For too many, buying a home in this State is simply unaffordable. When Deputy Darragh O'Brien took office as Minister for housing he stated that one of his key objectives was to deliver affordable homes for people and families to purchase, to give hope back to young people so they can aspire to own their own family home. Those were his words. He talked a big game. The question is, what is affordable in the eyes of the Minister or the Tánaiste?

In October 2020, Dublin city councillors voted down a controversial deal to sell public land at Oscar Traynor Road to a private developer. The deal was rejected because it would make it impossible to deliver affordable homes for working people to buy. Sinn Féin had long campaigned for the Government to fund Dublin City Council to deliver affordable and social homes on this very site but Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments refused to provide the funding. Instead, the Government wanted the public land to be sold to the developer. Sinn Féin warned this would lead to unaffordable prices and rip-off rents. When the vote came, Fine Gael, as it does, supported it, Sinn Féin opposed it and the Tánaiste's party was split down the middle, with four councillors voting against it. In desperation, the Government leaned on Dublin City Council and a promise was made that three-bedroom homes would be sold for between €250,000 and €306,000. Fianna Fáil got in line and supported the bad deal and the land was sold.

Fast forward to today, 2024. This week, Dublin City Council announced the prices that what this Government describes as affordable homes on Oscar Traynor Road will be sold for. A sum of €400,000 is the lowest price people will pay for a three-bedroom home. The cost will go up to €475,000. Up to €309,000 is the price people will pay for a one-bedroom home on Oscar Traynor Road in Coolock. The Government calls this its affordable housing scheme. It is bonkers. This is the Minister and the Government's idea of affordability. It is astonishing. People will wonder if they are living in a parallel universe. How out of touch can the Government get if it thinks these prices are affordable? How can anybody stand over a scheme that offers a three-bedroom home for prices of between €400,000 and €475,000 and call it affordable? We warned the Government this plan would lead to homes that were unaffordable and out of the reach of ordinary people, and we were right, but Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil refused to listen. Look where we are today.

We now have the ludicrous result of what was promised as affordable homes on State-owned land being sold for up to €475,000. The people in Coolock - I know many of them - who are desperate to buy a home in the community in which they were born to have a future for themselves and their families are now looking at a development in their back yard in which they can never aspire to own a home.

Does the Tánaiste believe €475,000 for a three-bedroom home in Coolock is affordable? It is a very simple question. Does he regret his support for this deal? Does he accept this was not only a bad deal for people who want affordable homes, but a terrible deal for the taxpayer? Will the Government now stop the policy of gifting public land to developers and support councils and approved housing bodies delivering real, affordable homes on public land.

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