Building started on 757 houses in Clare over last 12 months 

LATEST figures from the Department of Housing and Local Government show that work started on almost 60,000 homes in the last 12 months, with 757 under construction in County Clare, Fine Gael General Election candidate Leonora Carey has said.

“Work is starting on well over 1,000 homes a week, which is the most in at least 15 years. This is a direct result of policy measures taken by Fine Gael in Government”, Ms Carey explained.

“Shortly after Simon Harris became Taoiseach in April, the Government extended the development levy waiver and water connection fee refund to reduce the cost of building homes. Along with an injection of money into the First Home Scheme and other measures, this has led to a really strong pipeline of delivery.

“When Fine Gael entered government in 2011, just 7,000 homes were built. We have steadily increased housing supply and should reach close to 40,000 this year. 500 individuals and couples are now buying their first home every week, the most in 16 years.

The Fine Gael election manifesto proposes an extension of the Help to Buy Scheme to 2030 and increasing the support available from €30,000 to €40,000. This has already helped 50,000 first time buyers and yet the opposition want to abolish it,” she added.

“Fine Gael is also extending the First Home Scheme to first time buyers of second-hand homes. This scheme helps first time buyers bridge the gap between your deposit, mortgage, and the cost of your new home.

“Our plan is to build 300,000 homes in total between now and 2030, backed by €40 billion in capital investment. 

 “It’s clear that Fine Gael’s plan and our backing of first time buyers is bringing confidence to the market. The opposition, and Sinn Fein in particular, would destroy that confidence by abolishing these crucial first time buyer supports,” Ms Carey concluded.