Social Democrats Housing spokesperson, Cian O’Callaghan TD, said today that it is vitally important that the Minister for Housing listens to the warnings from the Central Bank about his proposed shared equity loan scheme.
Deputy O’Callaghan commented:
“The last time a government ignored warnings about over-heating house prices, it resulted in thousands of families being saddled with unsustainable debt. It is crucial that Fianna Fáil learns from its past mistakes and stops introducing policies that will benefit developers.
“In its submission to the Oireachtas Housing Committee, the Central Bank warns that the introduction of a shared equity scheme could lead to an increase in house prices, while doing little if anything to increase the supply of housing. The Central Bank notes the accumulation in household savings, which have substantially increased over the past year and that this should be taken into consideration.
“The Central Bank also advises that the Government should focus on addressing supply constraints, including tackling land hoarding and delivering cost rental and affordable purchase homes.
“I’m calling on the Minister for Housing to drop his plans for a shared equity loan scheme. The Minister has failed to produce any credible independent analysis to support the introduction of this scheme and continues to ignore numerous warnings that it will not improve supply and instead will increase house prices.”
March 16, 2021