Long anticipated affordable purchase housing at Oscar Traynor Woods in north Dublin has finally been advertised for sale – but the prices are anything but affordable, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan.
Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said:
“First time buyers will be paying up to €475,000 for a so-called affordable three-bedroom home in this development. This means that only someone earning over €100,000 is eligible for affordable housing.
“The Government have taken a brilliant idea with huge potential and managed to turn it into farce.
“The Affordable Housing Act, which legislated for this new form of housing, made the crucial mistake of defining affordability as a discount on the full market price.
“As the market price has continued to spiral out of control, so too has the price of so-called affordable homes.
“We are now seeing the results, with supposedly affordable housing on State-owned land being sold for nearly half a million euro.
“Affordable housing has the potential to really tackle this housing crisis if it is done right.
“High quality three-bed affordable purchase homes in Dublin have recently been built by Ó Cualann, an Approved Housing Body, and sold at a price of €295,450.
“This is the model the Government should be investing in – genuinely affordable homes built on State lands on a not-for-profit basis.
“Oscar Traynor Woods, between Coolock and Santry, is just the latest example of a Government scheme that’s good for political spin but totally ineffective and wasteful in the real world.
“The proper way to deliver affordable homes is staring them in the face – they need to wake up and act.”
June 26, 2024