People are stuck in the middle who can't afford mortgages says Leitrim councillor

Cllr Enda McGloin asked Leitrim County Council to outline plans regarding the affordable housing programme to ensure that people who do not qualify for social housing and are currently unable to access the current housing market because of pricing are facilitated and considered in such a plan.
Cllr McGloin, addressing last Monday's meeting of the local authority, noted that property prices are on the increase and said to “encourage developers and builders to build houses for sale targeted at the ordinary Joe Soap is proving difficult" adding that to "build a medium size house is probably going to cost between €300,000 and €330,000 and that can be beyond the scope of people seeking mortgages.”
He said there is a cohort of people “currently caught in a bind who don't qualify for local authority housing and can't get support to buy a house themselves.”
A report by the Director of Services, Housing and Community, Corporate Services, Cultural and Emergency Services said that under the Under Housing for All, there are a number of measures to support housing affordability and home ownership.
The First home scheme which is a shared equity scheme, aims to make home ownership achievable for individuals and families by bridging the gap for first-time buyers and other eligible homebuyers between their deposit and mortgage, and the price of their new home.
The Help to Buy (HTB) scheme is an incentive for first-time property purchasers and can assist with the deposit or to reduce the overall mortgage amount, making it easier for eligible buyers to enter the property market, the response continued.
It said that the Local Authority Home Loan Scheme offers affordable mortgages with competitive interest rates to eligible buyers (first time buyers and 'fresh start' applicants) and provides an opportunity to secure financing and purchase a home without excessive financial strain.
It can be used to purchase a new or second-hand property or for self-build and in addition, the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme makes local authority-provided homes available at a reduced price for first-time buyers, and Fresh Start applicants, whose combined mortgage and deposit will not cover the market price of the newly built home.
The scheme is targeted at applicants who do not have the ability to buy in the housing market.
The response said: “Initially in December 2021, when preparing the Housing Delivery Action Plan, Leitrim did not meet the affordability housing constraint as determined by the Department. However, more recently, we have undertaken an analysis of the Housing Market in Carrick on Shannon and subsequently sought expressions of interest to identify the demand for affordable housing across the county.
“It is now proposed to proceed with a further expression of interest to ascertain supply opportunities for the provision of affordable housing. Any proposal to develop an affordable housing scheme will require Departmental approval.”
Cllr McGloin  said the response from the council, especially the last paragraph, was “encouraging.”
He said that in towns like Drumshanbo as well as Manorhamilton, Mohill, Ballinamore etc. “there is a lack of that kind of housing available and there are a lot of people anxious to get into the property market but find themselves outside it.”
He asked for a report on the expressions of interest to identify the demand for affordable housing across the county. “I'm glad to see a start being made on it.”
He said he would welcome the availability of houses under €250,000 in the county.
Cllr Enda Stenson supported the motion and stressed “one thing we have got to look at in the county is family houses that are affordable; that is a need at this stage, and we can't afford for people to be leaving because they can't afford properties - proper family houses.”
Cllr Mary Bohan seconded the motion.
Cllr Felim Gurn said that he believes more land needs to be purchased to build houses.
Cllr Padraig Fallon said, “The difficulty here is that we've seen the price of building going up where the market does not make it viable in this county to build those houses to sell and that's the reality.”
He continued that he believed the income thresholds for social and affordable housing need to be increased.
He suggested writing to the minister or the leaders of the three main parties to find a solution to this issue specific to Leitrim, with Cllr McGloin agreeing with this suggestion.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Justin Warnock supported this view and said that paying a  €350,000 mortgage requires “two joint incomes and if a job goes, we're back into what happened in 2008 so we need to be careful. We need to write and let them know that we don't have those kinds of wages.”
He continued that labour in Leitrim “has to be cheaper than labour in Dublin so there must be a better guide to building houses in Leitrim than having to pay the extortionate prices that some of these developers are charging.”
Cllr McGloin said that building regulations were adding to the cost of houses.