Ahern says developers not 'hoarding' land for housing

The Minister for State for housing and urban renewal, Mr Noel Ahern, has said he believes developers are not "hoarding" large tracts of land zoned for residential purposes.

However, yesterday he refused to make a Goodbody report on the issue, which was submitted to Government in December, available to the joint Oireachtas committee on the environment and local government.

Mr Ahern said the report would be disclosed in October, when a number of other reports relating to housing supply would be available.

He added that despite house prices having risen dramatically since 1999, housing was only marginally less affordable now than it was in 1992.

"There was a general election in that year and the big issue on the doorsteps was 17 per cent interest rates," he said. Income taxes were now lower than ever and salaries were higher.

In response, Mr Ciarán Cuffe, of the Green Party, told the Minister to "cop yourself on".

"Not only are your friends, your corporate donors, hoarding land, but you're hoarding a report on it. I cannot understand the mindset of a Government who would keep this kind of information from the public."

He added that while the Minister kept "popping up" saying 10,000 social and affordable houses were in the process of being provided, very few of these houses had even been started.

"Maybe there's a few in your constituency, but that's about it," he said. Earlier Mr Ahern said sites for 8,900 of the houses had been identified and a small number in Finglas, "which happens to be in my constituency", had been started.

A much larger number of the 10,000 dwellings would be started next year, he said.

Mr Bernard Allen (FG) said the demand for affordable housing far outstripped supply.

"In one scheme they had 35 houses and 700 applications. They had to raffle them, put all the names in a hat and pull out 35 of them. That's the kind of impact you are making," he told Mr Ahern.

Mr Allen added that 45 per cent of the value of every house purchased was now going to the Government by way of taxes, including stamp duty, VAT and development levies.

The situation had been made even worse for young buyers with the removal of the first-time buyers' grant. "Nurses or teachers on a salary of €25,000 cannot possibly purchase a house," he said.

Mr Seán Crowe said one of the main challenges on housing was the provision of homes to single homeless men. Of the homeless men who used Dublin Simon's emergency accommodation last year, not one had been allocated a house. "This is where the crisis is," he said.