Things are starting to improve in housing market – I want more delivered faster, but we’re back to home building heyday
IRELAND’S housing crisis shows no signs of slowing down.
New figures this week shows the number of people in emergency accommodation across the country reached almost 11,000 last month - the highest number ever recorded.
Meanwhile, stats by the ESRI found that private rents have increased by 84 per cent over the last decade.
At the same time, Ireland has taken in more 58,000 refugees from Ukraine. The supply of new properties is the number one issue facing the country.
Last year, Housing Minister, Darragh O’Brien launched the Government’s Housing for All strategy, which aims to fix Ireland’s current housing needs.
Writing in the Irish Sun on Sunday today, Minister O’Brien said the Government is on track to deliver 24,600 new homes this year.
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YOU won’t hear it being loudly proclaimed by many of my opposition colleagues, but things are starting to improve in our housing market.
In the first nine months of this year, more homes were completed than in the whole of 2021 — and this year will see the most homes built since 2008.
There were also more than 16,000 first-time buyers in the past 12 months — the highest number since 2008.
Indeed, the latest home completion figures from the CSO show that the country is well on track to exceed the overall 2022 target of 24,600 new homes.
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While I am acutely aware that many people aren’t yet feeling the progress, one year on from the introduction of Housing for All, the Plan is making a difference.
Our investment of more than €4billion per year in housing is sending a strong signal to the sector that the Government is now the single biggest actor in housing — and is not just talking about new initiatives, but implementing them and funding them on a multi-annual basis.
The Opposition, with their false promises, say that they will deliver more homes, for less money, and in half the time. They use costings which are years out of date and which don’t take account of the double-digit inflation or supply chain challenges.
They budget €300million for a rent credit which would cost €600m, and they say they will abolish real supports for buyers, such as Help-to-Buy, the First Home Scheme and, bizarrely, the Vacant Property Grant which provides up to €50,000 to those who want to refurbish a home which has been vacant or derelict.
Now contrast their words with the Government’s actions.
We now have, for the first time, tenants in Cost Rental homes, paying rents which are approximately 30 per cent below local market rents and more than 900 such tenancies have been approved.
The First Home Scheme is going from strength to strength, with 606 approvals issued in less than four months since it was established.
HOMEBUILDING HEYDAY
These approvals mean that homebuyers are getting the funding they need, to close the gap between the finance they have and the finance they need to purchase the home they want.
The first Local Authority Affordable Purchase homes, beginning at €160,000, will be completed this year.
I am happy with the direction our plan is travelling. Like everyone else, I want to see much more delivered faster. However, I have to be realistic about the headwinds we face — working on the back of a decade of undersupply of housing and global pressures.
A worldwide pandemic followed by an illegal and brutal invasion in Ukraine continue to have knock-on impacts on the construction sector.
These events pose significant challenges, but are not an obstacle to our ambition and this Government is stepping in to help deal with them and keep our delivery on track.
As supply increases, it will make a difference. Today, almost 8,250 social homes are currently on-site and another 12,300 or so are at design and tender stage. These are the sort of numbers we saw during the homebuilding heydays of the 1940s and ’50s.
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As these homes are delivered, it will result in more homes in the private rental market becoming available and most importantly, mean that individuals and families can leave emergency accommodation and have their own safe and secure home.
In an unpredictable world, we have the stability of our housing strategy with its guaranteed multi-year, multi-billion budget. By maintaining our focus on our plan — while being agile and flexible to meet new challenges — we will deliver the growth in housing that you and your families deserve.