Supply, supply, supply – chronic rise in house prices demands solutions
- Rent to Buy scheme needs to be considered
- Single people totally forgotten
Labour housing spokesperson Rebecca Moynihan said government’s housing for all plan will not bring the supply of homes desperately needed on stream. Noting the many solutions put forward by opposition, Senator Moynihan said the budget announced this week will only benefit landlords, leaving ordinary people out in the cold.
Senator Moynihan said:
“The CSO figures released today are a shock and another disappointing reminder that home ownership is out of reach for so many people in society. The budget announced this week was one for landlords not ordinary hard working people. People who work hard should be able to aspire to home ownership, but unless wages suddenly catch up with house prices, its only a pipe dream for many.
“The Housing for All plan and Budget proposals exemplify a developer, investor led approach allowing for this almost 11% price growth. The Minister has failed to grasp the nettle and tackle the housing crisis through the delivery of State led social and affordable homes. Instead, the budget housing proposals showed more of the same tired efforts to incentivise the private market rather than the state led action needed to address the last five wasted years.
“Apartments in Dublin are up by 10.2% alone which will represent another blow to renters who may aspire to purchase and get on the property ladder. It’s time for government to consider implementing a rent to buy scheme to give renters a break and an opportunity. Renters got nothing in this week’s budget, and the exorbitant rent levels mean that people simply cannot be expected to save up to €30,000 while also paying rent, even when working full-time.
“The 400,000 people in Ireland who live alone will also be deeply concerned at these figures. While this week’s budget gave parents and families a break, it continued to ignore people who choose to live alone, the sums are all based on the assumption that people should aspire to couple up. The boom in Build To Rent developments are also ignoring the needs of single people who want to buy in inner city neighbourhoods. This misguided policy approach is constricting and deprives single people of the opportunity to own their own home. No housing system, or indeed economy, should be trapping people into seeing marriage or relationships as economic leverage to buy a home.
“Private profits are soaring post-pandemic whist ordinary people are struggling to get by. Household incomes are not keeping pace and the cost of living in Ireland continues to soar. This not sustainable, and as well as driving people into homeless, it is eroding people’s morale, it is forcing them to work to barely get by, it’s another symptom of Ireland’s two-tier society. People deserve secure and affordable housing and a more ambitious public housing programme must be at the core of any housing strategy. These homes must be part of living communities within vibrant towns and villages.”