Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It is extraordinary that the Taoiseach was not aware of that, or that his Cabinet colleagues were not aware of it and were not planning action to avoid a greater catastrophe in terms of the homelessness situation. The Taoiseach needs to act urgently in the coming days to address the matter.

Last week it was reported in The Irish Times that David Ehrlich of the IRES REIT made the following comments in talking about the Irish rental situation. He said, "It’s a great market" and "We’ve never seen rental increases like this in any jurisdiction that we’re aware of". He went on to say, "I truly feel badly for the Irish people". Of course he is answerable to the REIT's investors not to the tenants that are in his properties. The Government is making assumptions based on a functional market when it is in fact a completely abnormal market, and it is abnormally good for investors like IRES REIT.

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