Young people locked out of the legitimate aspiration of home ownership
Labour TD Ged Nash has warned of a return to a Celtic Tiger style housing market which he says is locking young people out of the legitimate aspiration of home ownership leaving them to fend for themselves in a rental market characterised by sky-high rents and insecure tenancies.
Reacting to the news that Drogheda experienced the highest quarterly housing price rises in the country in the first three months of 2021, Deputy Nash said:
“This week’s survey from the REA Average House Price Index has shown that unsustainable Celtic Tiger-style house price rises are back, with more and more potential first-time buyers finding themselves locked out of an out of control market.
“The research found that the price of a three-bed semi in Drogheda went up by €30,000 in just 12 weeks between January and end of March of this year.
“Recent history shows us how the story of a boom to bust housing market ends – yet this government and the Housing Minister continue to throw fuel on the flames with bonkers schemes that do nothing to boost supply and only serve to inflate the market.
“For example, the recently announced flawed shared equity scheme will only end up inflating the housing market further, with the Minister’s own civil servants warning that it would drive up house prices.
“In the meantime, our young people remain locked out of the legitimate aspiration of home ownership and have been left to fend for themselves in a dysfunctional rental market characterised by sky-high rents and insecure tenancies.
“Even the lucky few who are now in a position to buy, risk paying significantly over the odds for a modest home.
“There are no winners in this sorry situation, and successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fail Housing Ministers have failed to get a handle on this crisis or come up with a credible plan.
“Instead, they continue to over rely on a private-market model which has seen the State pay nearly double the average unit price to acquire homes from developers rather than equip local authorities to directly build public and affordable homes on public land.
“A prime example of this penny-wise pound-foolish housing policy is the Government’s continued failure to fund the Northern Port Access Route, which would unlock land to build thousands of badly needed new homes in our area.
