The latest report on housing from the Central Bank has shown up the empty promises of this Government as we head into a general election, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan.
Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s spokesperson on housing, said:
“Both Taoiseach Simon Harris and Minister Darragh O’Brien repeatedly claim that 40,000 new homes will be built this year. We can now clearly see this for what it is – meaningless pre-election spin.
“The Central Bank’s Quarterly Bulletin on Housing has predicted that the Government is set to miss this target by 8,000 homes this year.
“This failure to come close to the 40,000 new homes target is even more concerning considering the Central Bank is now estimating that we actually need at least 52,000 homes a year until 2050.
“Every year of missed targets is leading to a larger housing deficit and a deeper housing crisis that will take longer to tackle. The current housing deficit is already estimated to be as high as 260,000 homes.
“Quite simply, we are not building enough homes to keep up with population growth, never mind put a dent in the massive shortfall built up over the past decade.
“The Social Democrats will be setting out a comprehensive affordable housing plan in the coming weeks. Central to our plan will be to subsidise the not-for-profit sector to build tens of thousands of affordable purchase homes on public land.
“This Government’s legacy can be summed up as turning a housing crisis into a housing disaster. No amount of empty promises will change that.”
September 18, 2024