Housing crisis ‘on cusp of changing’, claims Taoiseach

Leo Varadkar pointed to encouraging numbers of first-time buyers, while admitting there is a "massive deficit" of around 250,000 homes in Ireland.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has insisted that actions taken by the Government has led to improvements in the housing situation. Picture:  Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

The housing crisis is "on the cusp" of changing for the better, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.

Mr Varadkar said there is "no lack of political will" to solve the crisis, despite figures earlier this week showing a €1bn underspend on housing.

He predicted that there would soon be an upturn in efforts to tackle shortages, but accepted that people "are suffering".

"The truth is that people are leaving home later than they used to," he said.

The average person leaves home at 28 in Ireland — it used to be 23, and that's because of the housing crisis. 

"People are buying homes later, but this is something that I believe is on the cusp of changing. House prices are levelling off, if anything they're falling a little, there are record numbers of first-time buyers in recent months."

Mr Varadkar insisted that actions taken by the Government has led to improvements.

He said 1,500 first-time buyers are purchasing homes every month, the first time this figure has been reached since 2010.

However, the Taoiseach accepted there is a "massive deficit" of around 250,000 homes in Ireland.

Ending of eviction ban

Asked about the ending of the eviction ban last week, the Taoiseach said the number of notices to quit — around 9,000 for the second half of last year — was "of course" unprecedented due to changes in how these numbers are collated. 

He added that councils "have the financial resources" to carry out the tenant-in-situ scheme, but the focus now will be on ensuring that councils have the staff to purchase 1,500 homes under the scheme.

"The vast majority of people who face notices to quit will find alternative accommodation — emergency accommodation is a backstop, it's not a solution," he told RTÉ's This Week.

"But one thing that I think has been missing from this debate is that none of these homes are going to be vacant for long. 

"In a lot of cases, it's a first-time buyer buying these homes, and in other cases, it's an Irish citizen coming home."

'Working towards' solutions in Northern Ireland

Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar said his Government will have "deep engagement" with the British government and parties in the North to get the Northern institutions up and running in the next few months.

“Hopefully, it’s not going to be too far away," he said. "I appreciate that there are local elections coming up in May, and then there’s the marching season, which can be difficult in Northern Ireland.

“We’re certainly working towards having institutions up and running in the next few months.”