A substantial increase in money allocated to affordable housing in the budget would be a significant signal to the public that the housing crisis is being tackled, Fianna Fáil has said.
Darragh O’Brien, the party’s housing spokesman, says Fianna Fáil wants to see a €200 million scheme announced by the Government on October 9th.
Mr O’Brien is to outline the Fianna Fáil demand at a briefing on the second day of the party’s think-in at the Grand Hotel in Malahide, Co Dublin, on Wednesday.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe met Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesman Michael McGrath and Barry Cowen, the party’s public expenditure spokesman, on Tuesday as negotiations continued ahead of the budget.
Mr O’Brien said the €200 million allocation would allow for a €50,000 subsidy for 4,000 homes which would largely be built by local authorities. The rate of “affordability” would differ across different regions of the country.
“The people need a signal this is actually going to happen,” the Dublin Fingal TD said. “They are sick of hearing about it.”
Party leader Micheál Martin said Fianna Fáil wanted to see a “fundamental change in the direction of housing policy”.
“That’s both in terms of building more council houses but, critically, also in terms of an affordable housing scheme that will have substantial resources behind it that will sustain and will mark a significant change in terms of the State deciding to intervene in a substantial way in building affordable houses.
“It’s regrettable that the Government to date has not gone down that road in any serious way. And that’s what you have to watch out for.”
‘Straight away’
Mr O’Brien says Fianna Fáil wanted such a scheme to start “straight away”.
“We need to deliver affordable housing much quicker. There are other ways of the State doing that, i.e. buying State property, so we are also looking at that.
“The main part of that €200 million is building those homes on State-owned land and affordable schemes. Some of these are ready to start, but it is about giving the funding so the local authorities know that there is a subsidy per house, and they know what the definition of the affordable housing scheme is.
“Our scheme would also bring in local or regional affordability. You are looking at an average subsidy of up to €50,000 per home to reduce it. In simple maths that gives you the €200 million.This is a core pillar of our budget negotiations, but something that Fianna Fáil will develop into the future.”
Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators also had a session on Brexit, which was addressed by Prof Tim Bale of Queen Mary University of London. Mr Martin last week met Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator.
Mandate
In an address at the think-in, Mr Martin said: “I can confirm in various discussions which I held last week in Brussels and the UK that nobody whatsoever raised the issue of whether the Irish Government had a mandate to complete Brexit negotiations.
“The only people promoting the idea of uncertainty have been the Taoiseach and his Ministers. This is a transparent and cynical political game which will do them no good.”
