Demand for homes to get worse before it gets better – Housing Minister

The Minister for Housing has said that the demand for homes in Ireland is set to worsen.

Speaking on The Week In Politics on RTÉ, Minister Eoghan Murphy put it down to population growth. "The need will continue to increase because (of) our demographics (and) our population is growing faster than anywhere else in Europe." He assured that "significantly" more homes are on the way to meet the demand. "We are going to build significantly more houses next year - not just the State directly, through social house building, but also the private sector." The government's approach to the housing crisis was criticised by fellow panellists Fianna Fáil TD Barry Cowen and Labour TD Jan O'Sullivan. "They are trying their best, but what they are doing is just not working," Cowen said. This comes after it was revealed last month that house prices in Ireland are rising by around €50 per day. The average home is now going for 8.9 per cent more than a year ago, according to a new survey by Daft.ie. Meanwhile, this week we learned that the average cost of running a house in Ireland is €16,169.15. Figures released by AA Home Insurance showed a three per cent increase on last year's cost.