Darragh O'Brien: 'Absolutely not' a mistake to include Shared Equity Scheme in housing plan

The Central Bank and the ESRI have both said the Shared Equity Scheme could potentially push up house prices

In June, the minister told the Dáil the scheme had "received approval" by the Central Bank, but it emerged that the bank has not approved it. File photo

The Housing Minister has insisted it was "absolutely not" a mistake to include the controversial Shared Equity Scheme in his 'Housing for All' plan, despite the fact the scheme has not been approved by the Central Bank.

Darragh O’Brien has been accused of misleading the Dáil regarding one of the core pillars of his new multi-billion euro housing plan. In June, the minister told the Dáil the scheme had "received approval" by the Central Bank. However, it emerged last week that the scheme, which could see the State paying up to 30% of the purchase price of a newly built home, has not been approved by the bank.

Speaking today, Mr O'Brien rejected opposition claims he had misled the Oireachtas and said he had "repeatedly stated that the operational details are being finalised".

The housing minister said that work on the design of the scheme is at an "advanced stage".

The minister is standing firm on his decision to include the scheme in the 'Housing for All plan', insisting on Monday that the department had been "making really good progress in that space".

Mr O'Brien refused to be drawn on whether he mishandled communication on the issue was poor, instead saying "people like debating it, I'd like to get results."

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"What I'm interested in doing is giving young people an opportunity to own their home at an affordable rate or rent their home at an affordable rate," he said.

"We need all options to do that because we have a real issue, the average age of someone buying their first home is now up to 36 years of age and there's a whole cohort of people that feel completely disenfranchised and left completely outside -  like they have no stake in their community.

"I'm making that a priority.

He went on to say: "We're working through the details of all of those things, sometimes people don't like change, we need to approach things differently if we want to make a difference."

The Central Bank and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) have both criticised the Shared Equity Scheme, expressing concern that it could potentially push up house prices.

Defending Mr O'Brien, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said: "There isn’t a single member in this House who has not said something in an interview, at a meeting or in an email that turned out to be incorrect. All of us make mistakes in that regard.

“We do so in good faith and when it is pointed out to us that we said something that was wrong, we try to correct it as soon as possible.”