Sir, – So €750 million is to be used to grant "soft" loans to builders who can't or won't get such loans from banks ("Details on HBFI agency are as sparse as houses", Cantillon, October 12th).
While this is being done to help accelerate the building of about 6,000 homes, about 5,400 (90 per cent) of them will be sold at full market prices and won’t be either social or affordable.
Why is taxpayers’ money being used for this purpose when the real logjam in the housing crisis is at the social and affordable end, which the State is best positioned to prioritise and address directly?
Furthermore, given that the source of funds is the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, why are the funds being advanced as straight bank loans, and not equity or participating preference shares to take account of risk and reward? – Yours, etc,
:fill(white):background_color(white)/static.themebuilder.aws.arc.pub/irishtimes/1647534191476.png)
BRIAN FLANAGAN,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.