No confidence in Sinn Féin’s housing plan, as Mary Lou cannot confirm mortgages will be available – Cummins

Fine Gael General Election candidate Senator John Cummins has said Mary Lou McDonald has again failed to provide clarity on Sinn Féin’s housing plan.

Senator Cummins said:

“Last December, Mary Lou McDonald said Sinn Féin would bring average house prices in Dublin down to €300,000. During the summer, she shifted position to say the €300,000 figure would only apply to their plan for affordable purchase homes. And now in their manifesto they have confirmed that their ‘affordable homes’ would only account for one in eight of all homes they would build.

“We have repeatedly asked Sinn Féin for clarity in relation to the banks’ position on their affordable purchase plan.

“Last night on Virgin Media, Mary Lou McDonald again failed to provide clarity. Under repeated questioning, she said she “believes” the banks will be satisfied with their plan based on conversations Pearse Doherty and Eoin Ó Broin have had. She said the banks will “engage” with whoever is in government, while acknowledging that the banks will have to be “looked after”.

“This is neither the clarity nor reassurance first time buyers need.

“Under Sinn Féin’s plan, you will never be able to own your home outright because you will never own the land on which your home is built on. Furthermore, Sinn Féin would dictate who you can sell the house to and for what price in the future. That is simply not the home ownership that my generation want.

“The Sinn Féin scheme also prevents any household with an income of €90,000 from accessing affordable housing, which would exclude a Garda or a nurse who are just a few years into their careers from even applying.

“Under Fine Gael’s policy, our affordable purchase options are based on the mortgage approval figure you can attain via the banks and not an arbitrary income cap that doesn’t take account of individual circumstances. We will continue to ramp up the delivery of affordable homes across the country, homes that you can fully own.”