Commenting on Government proposals for an equity loans scheme, Social Democrats Housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan TD said:
“The Minister for Housing is burying his head in the sand and ignoring numerous warnings that his proposed equity loans scheme will push up house prices.
“Serious warnings and reservations about the Minister’s proposed equity loan scheme have been issued by the Central Bank, the ESRI and senior Government officials. Despite these warnings, the Minister plans to plough ahead with his proposed equity loans scheme.
“The experience in the UK is that shared equity loans increased house prices and increased profits for developers. We cannot go back to the bad old days of implementing policies that benefit developers while keeping thousands of people locked out of housing.
“The Minister should scrap this scheme and instead put resources into directly delivering homes that are genuinely affordable.”
February 19, 2021