Homes should be affordable for single people too
- Government rejects Labour amendment to make 20% of affordable housing available for single income households
Speaking after a debate on affordable housing, Labour housing spokesperson Rebecca Moynihan has said Government’s decision not to accept Labour’s amendment to make 20% of affordable housing available for single income households sets a dangerous precedent.
Senator Moynihan said:
“Our dysfunctional housing market has let down too many people. Accessing affordable, secure housing is impossible for too many people, and particularly single people.
“Single income households are growing and deserve affordable housing. More than 400,000 people in Ireland live alone, yet every time the Government talk about housing it’s based on joint incomes. Government continues to set housing policy that is based on the assumption that people should aspire to couple up. They had an opportunity today to change their apporach but decided not to.
“This is further evidenced by the Government’s statement on regulating investors from buying whole estates of family homes in the suburbs as opposed to also applying it for apartment developments in cities. The boom in Build To Rent developments are also ignoring the needs of single people who want to buy in inner city neighbourhoods.
“This misguided policy approach is constricting and deprives single people of the opportunity to own their own home. No housing system, or indeed economy, should be trapping people into seeing marriage or relationships as economic leverage to buy a home.
“Single people aren’t transient and single people aren’t just young. Being single isn’t just a stage of life that people should want to get out of. Home ownership is a legitimate aspiration for all people – single or married, young or old – and we need to put in place supports for collective approaches to home ownership for low and middle income earners.”