Housebuilders in Ireland are embarking on a series of roadshows to lobby newly-elected TDs on what they say are the barriers to housing construction.

State loans to tackle the lack of new house building will not be rolled out until the end of this year despite being announced last October.

A €750m State fund for developers to build at least 6,000 homes will be rolled out in the summer, but loans will be treated strictly like any commercial agreement operated by banks.

Developers will be charged as low as 4% interest on state loans to construct houses under the new Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) scheme.

Paschal Donohoe is a new breed of finance minister who delivered a speech in his typical style: On-message, handled with care, and shot through with the odd folksy flourish, writes Michael Clifford

Paschal Donohoe’s first budget was a bit like The Late Late Show — something for everyone in the audience, a stand-still patchwork quilt that is prudent and sober but lacking in ambition. It tinkers at the edges but fails to offer an overall vision for the future.