Paul Hosford: Why 'starter homes' won’t fix the housing crisis — and may create new problems

The Government’s renewed focus on 'starter homes' highlights a deeper issue: housing policy built on assumptions that don’t match real lives

Housing minister James Browne, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and Tánaiste Simon Harris at the Donore Development site in Dublin as the Government’s new housing plan is launched.

Before we purchased our home eight years ago, my wife and I had agreed to purchase a new-build home on the Meath-Dublin border.

A three-bed semi-detached 118sq m for the then-market-topping-but-now-kind-of-quaint price of €315,000, it was close to schools, a walk to the busy village centre, and overlooked the town’s GAA pitch. And, yet, there is one memory I carry with me of being shown around by a thoroughly nice estate agent.