Mayo View: Housing crisis remains thorn in government's side

With the perception prevalent that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are poised for a proverbial home run in the forthcoming general election due to the main opposition party, Sinn Féin, being in crisis, there is one issue that remains a thorn in the side of the outgoing government.

Despite the exchequer having an overflow of cash reserves, the lack of adequate delivery of affordable housing stands out like a sore thumb to the electorate.

It was no surprise, then, to see Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson, Eoin Ó Broin, dominating the floor of the Dáil chamber to articulate that point with his usual proficiency.

His motion, calling on TDs to 'agree that the government's Affordable Purchase Scheme is not working, while house prices continue to spiral out of control with a 10.1 per cent increase in the last 12 months according to the Central Statistics Office', led to fairly heated exchanges between the Sinn Féin and government benches - a signal of what is to come when the general election kicks off in earnest.

No less than six Sinn Féin TDs stood in support of their colleague before Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien got an opportunity to respond, condemning Sinn Féin’s alternative programme of affordable leasehold purchase homes as 'convoluted' and 'setting out vague but complicated terms'.

Then he proceeded to question comments made by SF party leader Mary Lou McDonald during the course of RTÉ One’s 'This Week' programme on Sunday, September 29, when she was asked whether or not her party had confirmation that the commercial banks would lend under the Sinn Féin programme of affordable leasehold purchase homes and, as the minister outlined, her exact response was: "Yes, the banks will lend."

Minister O'Brien described that statement as 'incorrect and misleading,' a point strongly disputed by Deputy Ó Broin.

Irrespective of whose view you believe to be accurate or otherwise, the situation remains that more and more young people between the ages of 18 and 44 - as many as 13,500 in Mayo alone, according to Census Ireland - are struggling to get enough money together in order to purchase their own place to live.

While many of those may have emigrated since the census figures were compiled, the reality is that the affordable housing crisis can only be addressed by decisive government action and not by political wars of words.

The big obstacle, however, is that the cost of land and building materials are running out of control and more and more millions of exchequer funding is being gobbled up before a serious dent can be made in addressing the problem.

A fair point was made by Independent Galway TD Catherine Connolly in supporting the view that the solution is public housing on public land.

She continued: "The prices of houses have to come down. It is insulting to say affordability is €500,000 or €400,000. It is an obscenity.

"The very fabric of society depends on the social cohesion of people having a home and a basic sense of security so they can let their children go to school and help them to have continuity."

Very true.