We cannot allow skyrocketing property prices to continue locking tens of thousands of people out of homeownership, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.
Deputy Hearne, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said:
“The latest national Residential Property Price Index, published today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), recorded an eight per cent increase in the 12 months to February 2025.
“In Dublin, prices rose by 7.1 per cent, while the increase was 8.7 per cent outside the capital.
“With the median price of a home now standing at €360,000 – and as high as €670,000 in Dublin – a generation continues to be locked out of homeownership.
“When the previous government took office in June 2020, the median price for a home in Ireland was €260,000. Since then, the cost of a home has increased by a staggering €100,000. It is unbelievable that the government insists they have the housing crisis under control when they clearly do not.
“Runaway property prices are one of the reasons why I have this week proposed the setting up of a new State savings scheme to fund the accelerated delivery of affordable homes.
“Under this proposal, the government would establish a Homes for Ireland Savings Account to leverage the €160 billion in Irish bank accounts for investment in affordable homes – providing some alternative to the utterly unaffordable prices highlighted in the latest CSO figures.
“This would be an innovative way of offering an incentivised savings scheme for Irish savers, while opening up a new source of domestic private financing for home building in Ireland
“Lack of supply and affordability lie at the heart of this crisis. This government must ensure there is a radical reset of housing policy to make owning a home of your own an actual possibility.
“To address the housing emergency, things urgently need to change – and the Social Democrats have proposed a number of workable solutions to bring about that change.”
April 16, 2025