Market and for-profit interests cannot deliver affordable housing- state must deliver directly
People Before Profit TD and housing spokesperson, Richard Boyd Barrett, has said that the CSO figures on property prices showing increases of 12.4% in the last year to September, shows that private property investors, which the government are relying on to fix the housing crisis, cannot deliver affordable housing.
The TD noted that the vast majority of people on low, medium and even decent incomes are now priced out of the market.
He said: “The figures from the CSO today are stark and show that the government’s policies are failing disastrously to resolve the housing crisis and the crisis of affordability in the housing market.
“Many people, including people on decent incomes are now totally priced out of the market. In my area for example, which has the highest house prices in the country at €570,000 median, many people have absolutely no hope of ever getting on the properly ladder.
“What is needed is for the state to deliver affordable housing directly. The state could do this, but the policy of the government in its Housing for All plan is to continue to rely overwhelmingly on the market and on private developers, whether directly or through Part V, to deliver affordable housing- something which they are incapable of doing.
“The state must radically break from its dependence on for profit and market interests and instead begin the process of dramatically ramping up the direct provision of public and affordable housing on public land. We also need aggressive action to deal with vacant properties and with punitive levies on people who are keeping property vacant.”