Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-19
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

Of course I recognise that house prices are still far too high for far too many, but I also recognise that the figures - the very same set of figures the Deputy has quoted - show more home transactions last year than the year before, and more first-time buyers last year than the year before. They are real people too. They exist in the Deputy's community and mine. Six hundred people every single week are getting their keys for the first time to a first home. That is progress. We used to talk about that figure as 500 people a week. Yes, there is more to do in relation to that, but we cannot selectively quote the figures. The median is not the same as every and the Deputy accepts that too. The help-to-buy scheme has significantly helped people. It has helped more than 60,000 people. Sinn Féin has a policy to cut it by nearly two thirds. The first home scheme has helped 9,000 people. Sinn Féin wants to abolish that scheme as well. As recently as yesterday, 24 hours ago, the leader of Sinn Féin lodged her objection to 249 student beds in her constituency. When Sinn Féin comes in here, it is a housing emergency in the Dáil and it is a housing objection in the constituency.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:40+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-19