I wish to ask the Tánaiste about yesterday's CSO report showing house prices are continuing to rise. The cost of buying a home is now 10% higher than at the peak during the Celtic tiger years. In Dublin now, first-time buyers face median prices of nearly €450,000. Is it any wonder home ownership rates are at their lowest level in more than 50 years? People on average incomes cannot afford to buy and are being forced into years of precarious renting. When the Social Democrats propose solutions like affordable housing zoning, the Tánaiste's Government votes these down. Is it the position of this Government to have house prices increase indefinitely?

Absolutely not. The price of houses is a problem for those seeking to buy or rent houses at affordable prices. There is an issue, and we want prices to come down and to moderate. It is all about supply, though, and I respectfully suggest that the proposals put forward by the Deputy's party would dampen it. We need more supply. This Government has already, in the context of its policies, enabled 110,000 new homes to be completed since Covid-19. The commencements story this year is quite dramatic. More than 32,000 units have commenced construction in the first five months of 2024. This is up a massive 147% from the 12,987 in the same period in 2023. Supply is the answer, therefore, and the commencement figures are very high this year because of the Government's policies and changes we made in terms of the development levies and so forth. The number of first-time buyers is also up. In the year to the end of April, about 17,466 first-time buyers bought houses in the market.

I thank the Tánaiste. We are over time.

We want to increase this trend and through the help-to-buy scheme and other supports, we will continue to help people to buy houses at affordable rates.