Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin TD has said that ‘government policy is pushing up house prices.’

His comments were made as the CSO Property Price Index for March reported house prices up 7% in the last 12 months and new house prices up 8%.

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“Government policy is pushing up house prices. The latest CSO Property Price Index shows that house prices are rising, and the rate of increase is accelerating.

“In the year to March, house prices Statewide went up 7% while new house prices increased by 8%. There has also been a 20% drop off in the number of transactions in March compared to the same period last year.

“The case of house price inflation is clear. Too few new homes are coming onto the market to buy while badly designed government schemes such as so-called Help to Buy and the controversial Shared Equity Loan scheme are driving inflation.

“Last year just over 8,000 new homes came to market for buyers, slightly less than in 2022 and about the same number as in 2019. So despite an increase in overall supply, the number of homes for purchase has stagnated under this government.

“Meanwhile the governments affordable housing targets are too low, they are being missed and too many of the properties that are being delivered are too expensive for the majority of working people.

“It is as if government policy was designed to push up house prices. The longer Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael remain in government the worse the housing crisis is going to get.

“That is why we need a change of government and a change of housing plan that ensures the delivery of tens of thousands of affordable homes at prices that working people can actually afford.”