Home truths on housing crisis
Taoiseach says ‘not possible’ to define affordable property
SIMON Harris said it is “not possible” to put a figure on what an affordable house is as it “varies depending on the person”.
He also acknowledged that while supply is increasing, it is not yet leading to a drop in affordability.
Before Christmas, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou Mcdonald said she believed average house prices in Dublin should fall to €300,000.
She was lambasted by Fine Gael for the comments as they argued it was not possible to bring down prices so dramatically.
Asked by the Irish Mirror what he thought an affordable home in Dublin should cost, Mr Harris said: “I think affordability very much varies depending on the person, depending on your circumstances.
“The job of Government isn’t just as a onesize-fits-all approach to housing. The job of Government is to provide a diversity and range of options. We’re up to well over 100 days since [Deputy Mcdonald] told the Irish Times that she will get the cost of a house from €450,000 to €300,000 and hasn’t told us how.
“I’m not going to do what she did. I’m not going to mislead the Irish people.
“It is a very simple answer. There isn’t one single figure.
“There isn’t one single figure in relation to affordability because affordability varies depending on a person’s circumstances, depending on the composition of a family.
“It also has to factor in a range of other issues in terms of government intervention.”
Mr Harris argued that while regarding affordability we talk about “headline figures of homes”, this does not account for schemes put in place by the Government.
At the Housing for All update for the first quarter of 2024, Housing
Darragh O’brien said construction started on nearly 12,000 new properties in the first three months of the year. This is up 63% on the same period last year.
He said he is already confident the Government will exceed its overall housing targets for 2024 of 33,450.
Mr Harris said: “On affordability, I’m still very clear that the country’s not where it needs to be in terms of many, many people still struggling to buy a home, many hardworking individuals who have done everything right maybe with two incomes into the house, trying to pay the rent, and going, ‘God, the cost of rent is so high. I can’t save for a mortgage’.”
Mr Harris added that due to “pent-up demand”, there is not sufficient supply of homes and this will factor into revised targets that will be published in the autumn.
He said he “expects the landing zone” of 250,000 homes to be built between 2025 and 2030.
Job of the Government isn’t just a one size fits all approach SIMON HARRIS
YESTERDAY