Ms Jackie Lavin:

Trying to regulate the vulture funds is like trying to close the gate after the horse has bolted. We are where we are and the vulture funds own huge tracts of properties. Why can the Government not conduct a compulsory purchase of these properties? It should be done at the price paid or at a 10% discount. My goodness, it would be easy to give the vulture funds a 10% or 20% discount because they bought the properties for nothing in the first place. Give them a little profit, let them get the hell out of here and then rent the properties back to the people or let the people who lost them in the first place repurchase the properties at the knockdown price, not at the 100% price that the vulture funds want to extract. My solution may be simplistic but it is a solution because trying to rein in the vulture funds at this stage would be a waste of time. Unfortunately, the damage has been done. The Government should bring in legislation now that would impose a compulsory purchase order on all of these properties. The vulture funds want to leave Ireland. They do not want to be here as they have conducted their business. They want a quick profit and out. Let the Government facilitate the vulture funds by letting them leave and give the properties back to the people at the same price that it gave the properties to the vulture funds. It should rent them or introduce a buy-to-let or lease scheme for the people who are homeless. Can the Government note equate the homelessness problem with the vulture funds that have turfed people out of their homes? Is there no joined up thinking to tackle the problem?