ESRI urges government to double spending on housing

The government needs to increase its house-building budget by 100 per cent to address the crisis, according to the ESRI.

It says the capital investment should rise from 2 billion euro a year to 4 billion. This would deliver about 18,000 homes a year, as opposed to 9,000 under the current plan.

Research professor Kieran McQuinn says the government can afford the increased investment.

The Finance Minister says he accepts the Government needs to spend more on housing. But Paschal Donohoe isn’t sure a doubling of the budget is possible.