Sinn Féin promise to deliver up to 50,000 affordable homes if in government

Eoin Ó Broin and Mary Lou McDonald at Sinn Féin's launch of ‘Bringing Home Ownership Back Into Reach For Working People’. The document was launched in the Irish Architectural Archive, Merrion Square, Dublin. Pictutre: Sam Boal/Collins

Sinn Féin has promised to deliver affordable homes at €300,000 to all households earning up to €90,000 a year, with the State paying for and retaining the land around the property.

The party has promised to deliver 50,000 affordable homes to rent or buy across five years if in government.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has strongly criticised the plan, describing the salary caps for households as “arbitrary” while labelling the overall proposals as being “built on foundations of sand”.

The plan has promised to deliver affordable homes to buy at between €250,000 and €300,000, depending on the size of the property and its location.

The scheme is primarily being targeted at households that are ineligible for social housing, but do not earn enough to afford housing in the private market.

For affordable rental properties, Sinn Féin has said that these would be available at €1,000 a month or lower.

Addressing how it can achieve the €300,000 figure, the document reads that this is done by separating out “the cost of land and site servicing from the cost of building the home”. It reads:

In essence under Sinn Féin’s affordable purchase scheme the State pays for all land related costs and retains ownership of the land.

The proposals also calls for an annual review to the salary cap of €90,000 for a single household.

The plan would give the homeowner “free indefinite use of the public land” for them, their children and subsequent generations, if they do not rent the property on the private market. They must also sell the property to an eligible affordable purchaser, if they seek to sell up.

At the launch of the plan in Dublin, Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said that the proposal to retain the land is due to its finite nature.

“We’re going to invest the billions so its not just this generation of young people or folks approaching pension age that can have affordable homes but that investment is in perpetuity. Forever.”

The report also calls for a waiver of development levies on these affordable homes, with Mr O’Brien questioning Sinn Féin’s opposition to the overall levy waiver carried out by the Government.

However, Mr Ó Broin rejected this comparison, saying that the Government’s waiver is “incredibly expensive” and does not lead to reductions in rents or house prices in private developments.

“We’ve never said we’re against waivers that are targeted for the purpose of affordable homes. But we couldn’t support a blank cheque where there’s no benefit,” Mr Ó Broin said.