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Updated at 4.30pm
TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY has said he doesn’t accept there’s a property bubble in Dublin, but “I do accept prices are rising”.
It following the publication of the latest Residential Property Price Index figures from the CSO, which show house prices in Dublin are now almost 25 per cent higher than they were a year ago.
Overall property prices in the capital are up 23.9 per cent, with that increase being driven by the 24.4 per cent jump in the price of houses. Apartments are up 18.2 per cent in the same period.
Outside Dublin, property prices are just 3.4 per cent higher than they were a year ago.
Asked about the issue at a press conference at Government Buildings this afternoon, Kenny said that prices were rising “because of the law of supply and demand”.
“You can’t sort this out unless you build new houses,” the Taoiseach said.
Asked to define what he would consider to constitute a property bubble, he pointed out that at the peak of the Celtic Tiger, around 90,000 housing units were being build every year, compared to over 8,000 last year.
We’ve got to get that back up to 15, 20, 25 thousand to deal with the demand that’s there.
Kenny said he expected the pressure on house prices in Dublin to remain for a period of between “18 months and two years”.
He said the Government was continuing work in the area to ”get in sequence the planning process” and “the income streams both for contractors and for persons to buy houses”.
Construction 2020
The coalition launched its new housing strategy, ‘Construction 2020′ in advance of May’s local and European elections.
The plan will see a portion of mortgages to first-time buyers guaranteed by the State and also includes some capital expenditure programmes planned as part of the sale of state assets.
In his speech launching the initiative, the Taoieach said it would lead to a tripling of housing output by 2020, “adding 60,000 jobs to the construction sector over the same period”.
The plan came in for criticism from opposition TDs at the time — with Fianna Fáil describing it as a “pre-election gimmick” and former junior minister Lucinda Creighton warning that that idea of supporting first time buyers was reminiscent of the kind of policies that led to Ireland’s financial collapse.
Reacting to today’s CSO figures, the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland called for the swift implementation of some of measures contained in the 2020 strategy.
The current rate of price inflation is of significant concern and poses a challenge to levels of affordability and our economic competitiveness,” said Conor O’Donovan, Policy Director of the SCSI — which is the professional body of the property and construction sector.
He said that some of the measures from Construction 2020 — including a more flexible approach to planning, ensuring development on vacant sites and “removing other obstacles to development” needed to be implemented promptly.
First posted at 4pm.
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“Roll up and see for yourselves how copy and paste works in journalism!”
@James Groden: watch as we delete all comments that don’t agree with our opinion and in some cases don’t allow comments at all!
Watch as we slightly reword Government press releases on various subjects where the public are told to get back in our boxes and do what we’re told and then turn the comment section off, because we don’t don’t want any dissenting voices.
Watch as we shut down the comment section when too many comments go against the narrative.. Breaking News! “Ten People killed in overnight raids in Gaza” Yea shut down comments on that one, as we don’t want People giving out about Israel.. Journalists my ar_se
In the past few weeks statements made by government Minister’s, the comment section has been closed. The taking down of comments that contain no personal or unacceptable comment but would have been critical of government have been removed. Bit hypocritical of the Journal.
@William slevin: respond to what? your mas ravings? No point. At this stage I pity you.
@establishment loyalist fascist lil joey:
I didn’t ignore it no offence I forgot about it…also its not a priority to reply to every reply you make to me which is alot…
But I think it was about the 70 year old assaulted in clare? I don’t know the circumstances of the assault but I’m guessing your employing it was done by anti mass immigration protestors….do you have proof of this? But let’s say it’s true I have no idea….I abhor violence against anyone unless its done for defensive reasons….if this 70 year old man was attacked by one of the protestors….then I would condemned such an attack as that infringes on the right of the 70 year old not to be assaulted for no reason…
So I would condemn such an attack
@William slevin: why willie and leave your mad raving influence others wrongly. Like your support for the protest in Clare….you know the one….I asked for your view of what happemed there on Sunday…and you ignored my question…..
Also you repeatedly ignore me asking you for proof of the false claim you keep making against me that I’ve incited hatred…well Where’s your proof…I want the comments and the articles where I supposedly incited hatred….
You haven’t so far because you can’t…because your a liar….
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