Home ownership “just a pipe dream for many” says O’Callaghan

Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan said that the latest residential property price index from the Central Statistics Office underpins what many already feel; owning a house in Dublin is “just a pipe dream for many.”

O’Callaghan, speaking in his role as party housing spokesperson, said “the cost of buying a home in Dublin has increased by over €65,000 since this Government took office. ”

“With the median price of a home in the capital now standing at a staggering €440,000, any hope of home ownership is becoming a pipedream for many.

“Teachers, nurses, gardaí and other workers are increasingly unlikely to be able to afford a place of their own.”

The review, published by the Society of Chartered Surveyors yesterday, showed that a couple consisting of a garda and a nurse with ten years’ experience would have a maximum mortgage limit of €356,000.

O’Callaghan noted this is “far short” of what is needed to buy a home in Dublin.

The Dublin Bay North TD said that the lack of affordable homes is having a “disastrous impact” on Ireland’s public services, and is a major factor in Ireland’s young people moving to Australia.

He said that the housing crisis could be solved, and pointed to the work of the Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance,

Their findings have shown that homes can be built and sold on a not-for-profit basis for far below the market rate.

“The State should be investing heavily in genuinely affordable housing using the Ó Cualann model. It is essential that we do not lock a generation out of home ownership because the Government have their heads buried in the sand.”