Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD has accused Government of “tinkering around the edges and ignoring the real issue of high house prices.” The Dublin Mid West TD’s comments were made as Cabinet considers extending the Local Authority mortgage to vacants and derelicts.

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“There is nothing objectionable about the proposal to extend the Local Authority mortgage to vacants and derelicts.

“But it is just more tinkering round the edges by Government. Darragh O’Brien is clearly desperate to announce something before Election Day.

“Meanwhile Government is ignoring the real problem, namely high house prices.

“Council mortgages have been in existence for 100 years. They are a great product. The problem is that house prices are so high very few people actually avail of them.

“Last year there were just 417 Council mortgage drawdowns with an average loan amount of €164k.

“In Dublin City just 46 loans were drawn down in with average loan amount of €211k.

“The real problem is that under this Government the price of new and second-hand homes continues to rise while affordable home delivery is virtually non-existent.

“Until these issues are addressed no amount of minor changes to existing schemes will address the crisis.

“Only a change of Government and a new ambitious housing plan to deliver tens of thousands of genuinely affordable homes will address Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s housing disaster.

“This is why voting for change in the Local and European elections is so important on Friday. It is the first step to getting a change of government and creating the momentum to elect a government that will sort out the housing crisis.”