Farrell calls for an Affordable Housing Scheme in Budget 2019

Tipperary Fianna Fáil General Election candidate, Sandra Farrell has said that an affordable housing scheme is an absolute priority for her party in their negotiations with Fine Gael ahead of Budget 2019.

“We, as a party, have been consistent in our call for such a scheme since it was mothballed by Fine Gael and Labour in 2012.

“We need a scheme that provides an affordable route to home ownership to young workers, including couples, who earn too much to be eligible for a council house but don’t have the earning capacity to secure a mortgage off a bank.

“Our Housing Spokesperson, Darragh O’Brien has been relentless in his desire to deliver such a scheme.

“Young couples in Tipperary need an affordable route to home ownership. Despite some income growth in recent years, more and more young people just cannot seem to scrape together the deposit needed to get a mortgage, and banks are not willing to lend them enough capital to buy their first home.

“In Tipperary, house prices have risen 9% in the third quarter of this year, compared to 12 months ago. The average house price in Tipperary is now €178,000. The Central Bank has set a limit of three and half times salary, so this means someone in Tipperary who wants to borrow for an average home, needs to be earning more than €50,000 a year. Young people are quite simply being priced out of the possibility of ever owning their own home. There has to be a better way of helping young people on to the property ladder.”

“The average rent in Tipperary for new tenancy is €655, up over 6% since 12 months ago. With rents continuing to rise, people will not be able to save for a deposit. It’s a vicious circle.

“Before the summer, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin joined together to block a Fianna Fáil plan to roll out an affordable housing scheme. This was playing politics with peoples’ lives.

“Budget 2019 is a chance to change government direction when it comes to affordable housing. Fianna Fáil is committed to implementing an affordable housing scheme that works for young people in Tipperary,” concluded Farrell.