A councillor for Dublin South Central has blasted the lack of affordable housing in the capital, where the average new sale price has risen to more than €435,000.
Cllr Rebecca Moynihan (Lab) has called on the Government to work toward introducing homes for ordinary families, saying more ambitious measures need to be taken on, including the compulsory purchasing of vacant sites such as the John Player Wills site at the South Circular Road.
The average price in Dublin has risen to €436,787 – a price that’s out of reach for a majority of families in the capital.
The average national price is also above the Government’s own affordability threshold.
Cllr Moynihan said: “The lack of new social and affordable homes is forcing families to commute or use unsuitable accommodation and will over time destroy communities across Dublin as more and more areas become enclaves for the wealthy.
“Action is needed to ensure homes are within people’s reach. The Labour Party has put forward an ambitious plan to deliver more than 80,000 affordable homes on publicly-owned land over five years.
“We know that there are countless numbers of vacant properties and land around the country and so many people are rightly angry at the level of vacant properties, when so many people are without a home and are priced out of the housing and rental market.
“Getting access to affordable, secure housing and quality rental accommodation is impossible for too many people in my area, and right across Dublin,” she said.
Cllr Moynihan added: “We know that the demand is there for affordable housing, but the State needs to start acquiring appropriate sites, like the Player Wills [site], and start building housing along with appropriate community facilities.
“After years of private market failure, we must provide for a new model to tackle the housing crisis and it is time we took radical action to provide our citizens with homes.
“The supply crisis can only be sustainably resolved through longterm State action that delivers affordable housing once and for all,” she said.
