Two ‘decent incomes’ no longer enough to afford a home, says Pearse Doherty

Two “solid, decent incomes are no longer enough” to afford to buy a home, the Dail has heard.

Sinn Fein finance spokesman Pearse Doherty asked how Tanaiste Simon Harris can “stand over” rising house prices.

During Leaders’ Questions in the Dail, Mr Doherty referenced recent Central Statistics Office findings that the median price of a home in Dublin has reached half a million euro.

He told Mr Harris: “You repeatedly tell us that prices are too high, yet they’re rising higher and higher year after year.

“Under your Government, in just four years alone, prices have jumped by 100,000 euro across the state.

“And how can you stand over this? To buy a typical home in Dublin now requires an income of over 100,000 euro.”

He added: “There’s parts in this city where people need incomes above 150,000 euro to purchase a typical home.

“The vast majority of workers are nowhere near that type of level.

“Even two solid, decent incomes are no longer enough.

“So how is anyone going to live in Dublin? How is a nurse? How is a garda or a young teacher to build a life here?”

Mr Harris said “house prices are too high for too many” but added that the median figure did not represent a “typical house” in Dublin.

The Finance Minister added: “Anyone who searches online will see many homes available in Dublin for below 500,000 euro.”

He said several metrics show “progress” in housing supply.

Mr Doherty said young people have seen their “future taken from them” and have “lost a decade” when compared to their parents.

“They feel locked out. Not because they failed, but because the system has failed them.”

Mr Harris said the Sinn Fein TD had failed to reference the CSO findings that more than 50,000 homes were purchased in 2025, a year-on-year increase that includes almost 20,000 first-time buyers.

“Supply is the key to all of this, because we’ve got to continue every single day to see what more we can do to increase the number of homes.

“And there are some positive signs which, again, aren’t often acknowledged.

“We’re now seeing 600 first-time buyers every week drawing down their mortgages. That used to be 500.

“We’re seeing more than 60,000 applicants having availed from the Help to Buy scheme, and over 9,000 home buyers have been approved to use the First Home Scheme.

“And I reference that, Ceann Comhairle, because of course that reduces the headline price, because it actually ensures that people can actually benefit from cash, through the Help to Buy and from an equity share in relation to the First Home.”

Meanwhile, the latest figures show 2,046 homes were commenced in January this year – a 73% increase compared with the same month in 2025.