Madam, - Contrary to the assertion in your Editorial on the plight of first-time buyers (April 26th), access to affordable housing remains a key priority of this Government and in response a sustained series of measures have been taken. House prices remain a concern, although this is much improved from the 40 per cent per annum growth that formed the backdrop to the Bacon reports. Our particular policy focus is on measures to assist first-time buyers and low-income households, and to ensure the availability of supply to meet demand. With population growth continuing to underpin strong demand, maintaining supply at high levels has to remain at the centrepiece of our policy response.
You seem to argue for some radical new initiatives. To some extent, this seems to ignore the need to ensure that policies do not ultimately destabilise the market or the broader economy, but also seems to imply that this Government has not been innovative and responsive to the ongoing challenges in the sector. This is clearly not the case. The National Economic and Social Council (NESC) examined the housing sector in 2004 and concluded that the general thrust of housing policy was correct. The NESC noted the role of Part V, which is gathering momentum. As older planning permissions, which pre-date Part V legislation, are built out the delivery will increase. The momentum is evidenced by a sharp rise in output in 2005 over 2004.
Since 1997, we have improved the planning regime; invested in serviced land to the extent that we now have some 6 years supply of serviced residential land nationally; enabled 515,000 new houses to be built; improved tax reliefs and stamp duty regime for first-time buyers; brought forward legislation on Part V, on the private rented market and to expand access to finance for affordable housing; invested €6.5 billion of Exchequer capital resources in social and affordable housing schemes, supported by five-year action plans at local authority level to deliver these programmes; provided for the housing needs of almost 100,000 households through various programmes, including through new affordable housing measures.
We have also established the Affordable Homes Partnership (under the chairmanship of Mr Des Geraghty) to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing in the Greater Dublin area, where the problems are most acute; and launched a new housing policy framework, "Building Sustainable Communities", to provide an integrated approach to guide housing policy and investment over the coming years.
These measures highlight the continuing priority we give to this sector and particularly to those who have problems in finding affordable housing. With 80,000 new house completions last year, and 22,000 in the first quarter of 2006, I fail to see how anyone can argue that we are not expanding the accessibility of housing. We are providing new homes at a much faster rate than other countries in Europe, with about 20 new homes produced annually per 1,000 population compared with 5 per 1,000 on average in the EU.
Infrastructural deficits in the Dublin area certainly impacted on responsiveness of supply in Dublin, and investment in this area has opened up new areas for development, with the completion of 18,000 new homes in Dublin in 2005, more than double the rate in 2001.
In addition to boosting supply, this Government is working to improve affordability for first-time buyers. We have supported them through improvements in tax reliefs and stamp duty, most recently in Budget 2005, and we are using investment to target people with particular problems through affordable housing schemes. We expect 15,000 households will benefit under these schemes in the next three years. - - Yours, etc,
NOEL AHERN TD, Minister of Housing and Urban Renewal, Custom House, Dublin 1.