I will do my level best. We are all aware of the housing crisis the Government continues to preside over and of the details of the all-party Oireachtas committee on housing. This Government has been very good on announcements, particularly in the social housing area, but it has been scant and very short on delivery. It may come as no surprise to anyone that while the Government talks about building social housing, the allocation for local authority housing budgets has been cut by 7% for next year. Today, more than 2,300 children continue to live in emergency accommodation. Home repossessions continue apace and to increase because of an Act that the previous Government passed, the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act. We have not done anything to stop families going into homelessness and losing their family homes.

The lack of supply is still a very serious problem and is causing issues for house prices as well as for the rental market. As the Minister knows, the rents in Dublin and across the country are back up to 2007 levels. There is a situation right now in which a two-bedroom apartment in this city costs €1,750 per month, yet this Government expects people to be able to save a 20% deposit to buy a house. Getting on the property ladder is practically impossible, yet the Governor of the Central Bank is still refusing to do anything with the deposit rates that he has set down. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, has not been able to convince him that setting a ceiling of a 20% deposit for buyers in the market is next to impossible. It is ensuring that families, and young families in particular, are unable to get onto the housing market.

For a €400,000 house, the standard price of a house in Dublin, if one is lucky enough to find one, a person will require an €80,000 deposit, yet the Government has failed to persuade the Governor that changes are required. The announcement in budget 2017 of the first-time buyer's grant initiative will do nothing but push up prices further. The issue of supply has not been addressed. Why would a builder or developer currently selling houses at €400,000 not increase the price? The Government has given them a blank cheque and those who will suffer are those who cannot afford to buy a house. That is why the issue needs to be addressed urgently. Is the Minister and the Government at all concerned about the impact the initiative will have on house prices? Will the Minister confirm if an impact analysis was carried out by the Government of how the initiative would affect house prices? If an impact assessment was carried out, will the Government publish it in order that it can be debated in this House?

I welcome the budget housing initiative. There is to be a 49% increase in the capital allocation for housing next year, a significant investment that underpins the detailed action plan for housing issued by the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney. Action is to be taken under the plan across a range of areas. As admitted by the Deputy, it provides for the provision of 47,000 social homes. There are other initiatives to help builders to start to build, including the affordable rent scheme and the upfront payment for social housing within private schemes. We recognise, of course, that there is a housing supply problem. From my experience in my area, very few starter homes are being built. There are plenty of expensive infilled homes to trade up, but there is a real problem in the starter home market. In the light of the deposit requirement set by the Central Bank for good banking reasons, the Minister for Finance has made provision in the budget for a help-to-buy scheme. First-time buyers of new homes will receive a tax rebate of up to €20,000 which will be immediately reckonable in meeting the deposit requirement about which the Deputy has expressed concern. This will immediately help more young people to get into the starter home market. The Deputy can see with his own eyes that there is no movement in the market. An analysis has been carried out of its different parts and how they are moving. The starter home market is one in which there is low volume and no movement.

If it costs €600,000, it is not a starter home.

It is for a millionaire.

The measure has been designed directly to help the very people to which Deputy Darragh O'Brien refers, namely, young people seeking to get on the home ownership ladder. They are living in expensive rental accommodation and find it difficult to put a deposit together. This is a measure which has been designed directly to assist them.

The Minister did not answer the question I asked him. Has the Government carried out an independent impact assessment of its first-time buyer's grant initiative? If it has, will it publish it? This is not a help-to-buy scheme but a help-to-sell scheme. That is actually what it is. In the few estates being built in my area starter homes are costing approximately €430,000. Will the Minister indicate to the House that he is confident that the initiative will not lead to house prices increasing further throughout the country? We are certain that it will. The Government has set a ceiling, but it will give a €20,000 rebate on a €600,000 house. We should be seeking to set a cap and looking at construction costs, but the Government has no initiative in that regard. It has done nothing about development levies, certification costs, VAT on construction, off-balance sheet developments and other such matters. It could bring in the credit unions which could fund schemes to build affordable homes, but it has done nothing to stop families from falling into homelessness. The number of home repossessions is increasing day after day and the Government is not tackling the root cause of the problem. Has it had an independent assessment carried out and, if so, will it publish it? Will the Minister indicate to the House that he is confident that this initiative will not lead to further increases in house prices because the Government is not addressing the supply issue?

Of course, an independent analysis has been done by the Department responsible for developing these programmes.

Will the Government publish it?

The problem we are addressing is that many builders cannot afford to provide the top-up funding needed to get starter homes. Large estates of 100 houses or more are not being built.

It is a mansions grant.

The Minister has taken direct action to help the starter home market, which is a very important part of the market.

Will it lead to house price increases?

For example, he is making provision for an affordable housing scheme under which developers, many of whom are not back in the market, can get access to cash on a guarantee that they will make homes available at affordable prices.

The scheme is a massive grant for south Dublin.

It will push house prices up further.

They are also getting upfront payment in respect of social homes. We continue to have a problem which the Deputy seems to ignore, namely, that young people are paying expensive rents and cannot put together the deposit the Central Bank, for proper reasons, has set. We do not want a repeat of the banking bubble, which is the reason the Central Bank has set down requirements. The Government is introducing a scheme that will help young people to provide a deposit to be able to purchase homes that are not being built at the moment.

It is a help-to-sell scheme.

I asked if the proposal had been the subject of an independent impact assessment and, if so, whether the Government would publish the results. The Minister did not answer my question.