Last week in one day, in one town, one vulture fund bought up three times more homes than the government’s affordable scheme is going to deliver this year – across the entire country.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien’s Affordable Housing Scheme shows Fianna Fáil is incapable of learning the lessons of history – the scheme is more of the same, failed, developer-led policy-making that characterised the Celtic Tiger era, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan TD.
Deputy O’Callaghan said,
“The ‘shared equity’ scheme will drive up house prices. It happened when the scheme was introduced in England and it will happen here. It is more of the same, failed, developer-led policymaking that characterised the Celtic Tiger era. We need an urgent change of direction.
“The Central Bank, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and ERSI have raised serious red flags about the ‘shared equity’ proposals. You have to ask why is the Minister for Housing not listening to their expert advice? We know big developers have been lobbying heavily for this scheme. Are they the only ones who have his ear?
“High house prices are not an accident. They are a direct result of government policy. This Bill should be renamed the Unaffordable Housing Bill.
“Last week in one day, in one town, one vulture fund bought up three times more houses than the government’s affordable scheme is going to deliver this year – across the entire country.
“The scale of the government’s effort, and ambition, is tiny. If we want genuinely affordable homes, the State must directly build thousands of them and sell or rent them at cost.”
“The government is considering the Affordable Housing Bill at its cabinet meeting today and I am calling on all of the members of cabinet to halt the Minister for Housing’s flawed plans. It’s not too late for the ‘shared equity’ scheme to be scrapped.”
4 May, 2021
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