TDs deny they tried to 'pressure' ESRI to withdraw criticism of Affordable Housing Bill

ESRI representatives told Oireachtas Housing Committee that the bill could result in higher house prices 

Concerns were raised that the new bill could lead to higher house prices. Picture: PA

Government representatives have denied that they tried to "pressure" the ESRI into changing its statement to the Oireachtas Housing Committee.

The institute was before the committee on Tuesday as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Government's Affordable Housing Bill. 

The ESRI warned that the Shared Equity Home Loan part of the bill "will very likely lead to higher house prices". 

The plan, which Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien brought to Cabinet before Christmas, offers equity loans of up to 30% on new-build homes under €400,000.

Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin told the Irish Examiner he felt government TDs and senators had tried to "pressure" the ESRI's witnesses Dr Conor O'Toole and Dr Rachel Slaymaker into changing their statement.

He said:

We don't have to agree with witnesses but they are free to make their statements and we are free to question them.

"It seems that there was a response to the media coverage of the ESRI statement but whether it was or wasn't, the committee isn't for defending government policy. It's for detailed scrutiny."

However, Fine Gael TD Emer Higgins said that her questioning was not attempting to change statements, but rather about focusing on another part of the bill. 

She said that the ESRI statement focused on the cost-rental and equity schemes in the bill but did not reference the provision for building homes on local authority sites or on the LDA Bill, which is before the Oireachtas.

Ms Higgins said that these measures would drastically improve the supply of homes, which would impact on affordability:

I felt that their statement doesn't give a holistic view of the bill. 

"I welcomed that the ESRI acknowledged that supply would be increased under the bill," she said.

"Supply is a key issue here and the bill is setting up to solve a large part of that."

Fine Gael Senator John Cummins, likewise, said that there was no attempt to get the ESRI to change its statement.

"It was more to comment on the overall significant part of the bill on the delivery of homes on state lands, be it local authority or Land Development Agency sites."