CSO figures highlight need for affordable housing scheme

08 November 2017

Labour Housing spokesperson, Jan O’Sullivan TD, has said the latest CSO figures that show a 13% jump in house prices nationally over the past year, highlight the need for a national affordable housing scheme.

The figures published today also show the price of a house in Dublin has risen by a whopping 87% since 2013.

Deputy O’Sullivan said:

“While not surprising, these figures show once more that house prices are continuing to rise at an astronomical rate and have become unaffordable for a huge number of people trying to get on the property ladder.

“Wages have not risen by the same level of 12.8% and so many people are being priced out of the housing market.

“To compound the problem, spiralling rents are also making it extremely difficult for people to rent a home while trying to save for a deposit, which in turn is resulting in unprecedented levels of homelessness.

“With the supply of housing now at an all-time low, the State needs pick up the slack from where private developers have failed. However it is absolutely vital that affordable, as well as social housing, are included in Government plans.

“For example, the 700 publicly owned sites that have already been identified for mixed tenure development must be used for affordable and social housing.

“While rising property prices are a huge problem with Dublin, with warnings from bodies like the American Chamber of Commerce that the crisis has become so severe it may impact Ireland’s competitiveness on the international stage, we are also seeing house prices grow by 16.5 % in the west, and 9.8 % in the mid-west.

“Government needs to ensure that the large tracts of publicly owned land that are currently under consideration for mostly private development will be used to build housing that is affordable for people on average incomes.

“While there will be a 10% element of social housing, we need to make sure there will also be affordable housing, for purchase or rent.”

 

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