17 Questions for Fianna Fáil to answer on their Housing proposals

Following its Housing launch today, Fianna Fáil need to immediately answer the following questions:

SSIA

• Why is there a cap on the number of applicants every year at 25,000? Does Fianna Fáil believe in excluding aspiring home owners? Will people be excluded? Can Fianna Fáil explain how this cap will work?
• What measures are in place to prevent owners of existing homes or parents on behalf of their children from joining the scheme?
• Can Fianna Fáil set out how they will ensure savings are used for house purchases? How will it work with Help to Buy?
• Why will it take three years before any payments are made to aspiring homeowners?
• Will it apply to owners of new and second hand properties?
• What will it do to increase supply?

Help to Buy

• Can Fianna Fáil explain how the Help to Buy scheme will be expanded?
• Will it include new and second hand homes?

Affordable homes

• How will Fianna Fáil deliver 50,000 affordable homes for less than €250,000?

Legal advices

• Can the legal advice be published which sets out how institutional funds will be banned from buying properties in new developments?
• Can Fianna Fáil explain how this would not affect Approved Housing Bodies?
• Can Fianna Fáil publish the legal advice it received on the rent freeze, and provide the date on which it was provided?

Social housing

• Can Fianna Fáil explain how it will encourage local authorities to use a single-stage approval process, given that just 45 from 280 social housing projects costing €2 million or less have done so to date?
• Why is Fianna Fáil happy to allow 44% of the social housing budget to be spent without any checks by the Department of Housing (by raising the threshold from €2m to €6m, and €10m over time)?

Source: https://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2019-12-11a.10&s=45+one+stage+approval#g18

Rental

• Can Fianna Fáil outline why a €600 rent tax credit (worth less than €2 per week) will help renters?

Home ownership

• Can Fianna Fáil explain why homeownership rates plummeted during 2006 and 2011, when house building was a record levels?

https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cp1hii/cp1hii/tr/

Funding

• Can Fianna Fáil explain why Home Building Finance Ireland needs to be expanded, given the scheme is up and running and fully funded?