Faoi cheannasaíocht Fhine Gael agus Fianna Fáil, tá deireadh tagtha le tithíocht inacmhainne. Léiríonn an phraiseach ar Bhóthar Oscair Mhic Thréinir nach bhfuil scéim tithíochta inacmhainne an Rialtais ag obair. Is í an eagla anois nach mbeidh na cíosanna san fhorbraíocht ar phraghas réasúnta do ghnáthdhaoine ach an oiread.

House prices continue to spiral beyond the reach of ordinary working people. A report by Myhome.ie this week shows house prices increasing at their fastest rate for almost two years, having increased by 7.3% in the past year. Only a dramatic increase in the supply of affordable homes will curb out-of-control house prices. The Government must provide affordable housing schemes that deliver homes to buy and to rent at prices that working people can actually afford.

Last night, Dublin City Council held an emergency meeting and backed a Sinn Féin motion on the Oscar Traynor Road scandal. At the meeting, it was unanimously agreed that the Minister for housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, must meet with councillors to explain why the homes being delivered on what was public land are so expensive. Councillors expressed their anger at the prices being charged for these so-called affordable homes. To remind the Taoiseach, three-bedroom homes are priced at between €400,000 and €475,000 while the prices of two-bedroom homes range from €335,000 to €427,000 and those of one-bedroom homes range from €264,000 to €308,000.

They do not believe these prices are affordable, but it seems the Government does. They accept that the policy of transferring valuable State-owned land to private developers is a disaster for housing affordability. The Government has got this badly wrong. The evidence is to be seen in Coolock and in my own constituency in O'Devaney Gardens, where the price of homes delivered through the Government's scheme is expected to be even higher than those at Oscar Traynor Road. In both cases, the promise was for affordable homes on these sites. In truth, the prices being charged are so high that the vast majority of local people will never have the chance to purchase these properties.

The second part of the scheme was meant to deliver affordable homes to rent. In order to force through the deals with developers at O'Devaney Gardens and Oscar Traynor Road, the Government promised affordable homes to rent on these sites. Another promise made, another promise to be broken. People are now deeply concerned that, just like the house prices, the rents will be sky-high too. At last night's council meeting, officials were asked whether these rents will be affordable but the question was not answered.

Does the Taoiseach know what the rents at Oscar Traynor Road and O'Devaney Gardens will be? New market rents in Dublin 5 and Dublin 7 are rising all the time. They are now so high that even with the Government's schemes' discount, the rent for a one-bedroom unit could be between €1,200 and €1,600 a month, the rent for a two-bedroom unit could be between €1,600 and €1,700 a month and the rent for a three-bedroom unit could be anything from €1,700 to €1,900 per month. Those are not affordable rents. More to the point, rip-off rents like those make a mockery of the so-called affordability scheme. Affordable homes to buy and rent can be delivered but the answer is to retain public land, to build on public land and for the Government to guarantee house prices and rents that working people can truly afford.

I welcome the opportunity to again discuss the important issue of housing and affordable housing in this House. Dublin City Council is perfectly entitled to seek a meeting with the Minister. I am sure he will be responding to that. In general, it is a good thing for local and national government personnel to have opportunities to meet and engage. As the Deputy points out, councillors from right across the political spectrum, including my own councillors for whom the Deputy does not speak, very much welcome the opportunity to have a meeting and engagement with the housing Minister.

We should not misrepresent the facts or conflate issues which are entirely separate. Right across Ireland, the price of an average affordable purchase home being delivered under Government schemes is €267,000. That is what Government schemes are delivering in terms an average price across Dublin in terms of affordable housing. Prices in Oscar Traynor Woods start at €264,000. A-rated new affordable purchase homes are at prices that are 19% to 21% lower than market prices. This is made possible by a subsidy through the local authority shared equity scheme and it is worth noting.

The Deputy brings this up on a regular basis, as is her right. She suggests that there seems to be very little interest in this. However, my understanding is that there have already been around 300 expressions of interest from members of the public looking to purchase these homes.

I do not need a chorus. There are many other examples of affordable housing schemes throughout the country. This is not just a meeting of Dublin City Council. In Waterford, for example, we are working to deliver affordable homes with a private developer for prices as low as €225,000. Of course it is more expensive to build an affordable home or a home in parts of Dublin than in other parts of the country. The Deputy probably found that out when she gave a commitment last December to construct and build houses in Dublin at an average price of €300,000 only to have to scrap that proposal - remarkably, live on air - 72 hours before the local elections.

This is a Government that is working to deliver all forms of housing, including affordable homes. It is not right or fair to suggest that one set of homes at one set of prices is in any way reflective of the broader set of schemes and supports that are available right across the country. Anybody can contrast our record as a Government with the Deputy's rhetoric, because we are presiding over a scenario where more than 300 homes are now being constructed every working day this year so far and 500 individuals or couples are buying their first home every week.

More than 600 homes are being built. We are seeing the highest number of homes being built in 15 years. We are building the most social homes since the 1970s. We are building the highest number of homes in Europe according to EUROCONSTRUCT and EY. Some 47,000 families have benefited from the help-to-buy scheme. Over 4,000 people have benefited from the first home scheme. As I said, affordable homes are being advertised around the country for an average price of €267,000. We know we have much more to do when it comes to housing. That is why we have approved a draft national planning framework today that will go out to consultation. That is why we intend to lift the scale of our ambition with new housing targets set in the autumn.

When it comes to affordable houses, it is not simply right to suggest that one set of homes the Deputy has found at one set of figures is reflective of broader affordable housing, nor is it genuine to suggest it is the same price to build an affordable home in Dublin as it is in other parts of the country. We very much look forward to the opportunity for engagement between national and local government. We want to work with local authorities right across this country to deliver affordable housing schemes. We absolutely do. We remain determined to do it and we are making good progress on it.

It does, in fact, cost the same amount to build the home, whether it is in Waterford or Dublin. The differential is the cost and the value of the land. That is the issue here, and that it is why it is all the more scandalous, particularly in the case of Dublin city, where land values and prices are so high, that the Government and the State would so thoughtlessly hand over public land into the hands of private developers. The Taoiseach has painted what he regards as a very rosy picture but he will know that people have said, and evidence has reflected, that it has never been more difficult for people to buy a home. Affordability has never been such an issue. The evidence and the trends demonstrate very clearly that handing over public land to private developers for development does not deliver affordability. I have given the Taoiseach the prices at Oscar Traynor Road. I have asked him a straightforward question: does he know the rental rates at Oscar Traynor Road and O'Devaney Gardens? If he has those figures, will he please share them with the House?

Those are figures that are clearly for Dublin City Council to provide. I presume that is where the Deputy is progressing it, and that is the right and appropriate place. However, the Deputy continues to misrepresent our position on housing. This is Government that is absolutely building and ensuring that homes are built on State-owned lands. We set up the LDA - I think the Deputy opposed it - and it is currently actively advancing development on 16 sites across Ireland capable of delivering around 6,000 homes, including on State lands. In Cork, we see that the first phase of a total expected delivery of 265 homes is now under construction at St. Kevin's Hospital. In Naas, 219 homes are being delivered at Devoy Barracks. We have a major project under way in County Dublin at Shanganagh with our local authority partnering as well. We are working in a whole variety of ways to provide housing solutions - public lands, private lands, public homes, private homes and social homes.

Sinn Féin leads the Government in Northern Ireland; I lead the Government in the Republic of Ireland. In Northern Ireland, 1,500 homes will be commenced this year. So far, we have commenced 33,000 homes in the Republic. We have delivered the highest number of social houses since the 1970s. Sinn Féin cut its targets-----

I thank the Taoiseach.

This is important.

Does the Taoiseach know the specifics?

Sinn Féin cut its targets-----

We are way over time.

-----for council houses in the North. It was planning on delivering 2,050 and a Sinn Féin-led Government has had to slash its social housing targets to just 400.

Táimid thar am.

There are 4,000 children homeless.