Home building bill must not be allowed to line the pockets of private developers

Commenting on the Home Building Finance Ireland Bill 2018, Labour’s Spokesperson on Finance, Joan Burton TD said:

“The Government’s new housing finance bill must be used for the development of more affordable purchase homes. This bill must focus on the needs of working persons looking to enter the housing market, and not simply be a tool for wealthy developers to use public monies to drive up the cost of properties.

“Ireland is now subject to market perversion where a couple, both working full time, are unable to get mortgage approval and yet are paying the equivalent or more the repayments on rent. Even when renters have the wherewithal to make mortgage repayments they cannot get out of the rental market due to the coast of housing driving up the size of required deposits and salary requirements. These are working people, often couples working in the public and private sector – nurses, teachers, guards etc, who cannot get started on the purchase of a family home.

“If the new legislation is focused on ensuring more affordable purchase property coming on stream we could make real achievements with it. There must be political will from the government to ensure this happens.

“This bill could even be used to facilitate the development of public lands held by local authorities to help increase the amount of social and affordable homes in the national housing stock. Labour’s preference would be for the government to use these resources to finance social housing and take a more directly in the housing market.”