Prospective house buyers would be left out in the cold by Sinn Féin – O’Dowd

Prospective house buyers should be aware that Sinn Féin wants to remove two key schemes that potentially enables them to finally own their own homes, a Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd has warned.

“Sinn Féin showed their abject lack of understanding on housing in an astounding private members’ motion last night in the Dáil, during which they called for the abolition of the Help to Buy and First Home Shared Equity Schemes,” said Deputy O’Dowd.

“Instead of these schemes, Sinn Féin wants ‘the funding diverted into the delivery of genuinely affordable homes for working people’. The detail on how these homes might be delivered ends there.

“The Help to Buy Scheme, since its introduction in 2017, has helped over 38,000 First-Time Buyers to buy their own home. With Sinn Féin at the helm, this very lifeline would be taken away and nothing offered in its place.

“Similarly, Sinn Féin wants to get rid of the First Home Shared Equity Scheme. As of the end of March, 1336 buyers in 24 counties around Ireland have been approved under the scheme and have received eligibility certificates allowing them to buy their chosen home. What do they think about Sinn Féin’s wish to abolish the very scheme that has helped them get on with their plans to purchase their own home?

“This Government introduced the Affordable Housing Act 2021, the first ever standalone affordable housing legislation establishing four new affordable housing measures to deliver on our Programme for Government commitment to put affordability at the heart of the housing system and prioritise the increased supply of affordable homes.

“2022 was the first full year of affordable housing delivery in a generation. Increasing the scale of affordable purchase will be achieved through a mix of new or extended initiatives, including the First Home scheme, Local Authority-provided Affordable Purchase Schemes, the Help to Buy initiative and the expanded Local Authority Home Loan.

“It is staggering to think that Sinn Féin’s whole policy on housing focuses on one singular point; ‘the delivery of genuinely affordable homes for working people’ – and yet they want to eliminate two of the key schemes that are proven to be working towards just that.

“Prospective house buyers should be aware of Sinn Féin’s complete lack of understanding of the most important issue that we are facing right now. Their proposals would leave many hard-working, aspiring purchasers firmly out in the cold.”