Wednesday 14 May 2014 16.31 Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore have announced a package of measures to stimulate activity in the construction industry.
The Taoiseach said the plan "addresses many related issues - it is a strategic and measured approach to the provision of housing nationally and in Dublin in particular.
"It will involve improving the planning process, sustainable bank and non bank financing for viable projects, mortgage finance on a sustainable basis, identification and removal of blockages to commercial development, international expansion of the industry and new technology."
The Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said "we want a sustainable and well regulated construction sector, stable employment and a supply of good homes for people. It should not be about kick starting the industry but about developing a sustainable industry for the long term".
He said the Government was approaching the construction sector in the same way it had dealt with the jobs and the export sector, particularly the action plan for jobs.
Mr Gilmore added that the Government had been working on this for several months, dealing with issues across a range of areas such as planning, finance, skills, availability of mortgages.
He also described the document as "a planned strategy to move industry forward."
Asked about Fianna Fáils criticism that the plan risked stoking a property bubble, the Taoiseach said "Fianna Fáil have a cheek of outrageous proportions talking about the construction industry and this Government - they destroyed this country - everybody knows it."
"The hallmark of the previous government was Priory Hall. We are not going back to credit being thrown around like confetti and trying to run a country on the unsustainable taxes that came from that."
He said "we want the construction industry to add 60,000 jobs by 2020, and they are well capable of doing that."
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said last night that the plans will not lead to a property bubble.
Mr Noonan told reporters in Dublin that more houses were needed.
He said: "It is very difficult to envisage a young couple having more than 10% of the price of a house as a deposit.
"At present, they are being required to come up with something like 20%.
"So we are examining it. It would be only for new houses, not for the second-hand market, and it would be for first-time buyers. It would be temporary in nature.
"We are working out the details of it between now and the Finance Bill."
He added: "But, in principle, we think it is a good idea as a supply side initiative."
Reform Alliance TD Lucinda Creighton warned that the initiative will fuel a new property boom.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Creighton said the package will not address the housing shortage.
She said: "I am very firmly of the view that there is an issue, obviously, with supply of housing across the country, particularly in Dublin.
"But creating further demand and fuelling demand and, essentially, pitching first-time buyers against each other is not the way to deal with that supply issue."
Economist Colm McCarthy has said the scheme is reminiscent of the 100% mortgages that caused debt problems for many borrowers during the boom.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Mr McCarthy said the proposal seems to suggest that the 15% deposit required by many banks from mortgage applicants is too much.
Instead, he said the Government is potentially proposing a loan-to-value ratio of 95% with "the taxpayer on the hook" for part of the deposit.
He said: "Until 15 or 20 years ago people were expected to save up 15% or 20% of the purchase price and then take out a mortgage for the balance.
"Going back to this idea that you don't need any money down, or you need very little money to put down, seems to me to be revisiting the errors of the recent past."
Mr McCarthy said supply of houses remains the bigger issue and zoning needs to be looked at.
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