Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Fine Gael created this system, it supported it, it cheerled for it, it rolled out the red carpet for these funds to come in, it turbocharged them and now they are, and have been for years, snatching properties from first-time buyers. The Tánaiste mentioned taxes and dividend withholding taxes. Pension funds do not pay them. The Tánaiste must get real here. We have been raising this issue year after year after year. Indeed, it has not just been us. Last February, the Department of Finance argued for increasing taxes on these funds. We can see from freedom of information requests that an official did so. However, the Minister voted against that when we put forward that type of proposal. In 2019, the Department carried out a report which said these funds were buying big swathes of property, talked about locking people out of home ownership and the rental market. Despite this, Fine Gael did nothing bar cheerlead for these funds. The question, therefore, is what is the Government is going to do. The Tánaiste said we should give it a little time. For six years we have been raising the fact that Government parties have been on the side of these funds over ordinary first-time buyers who are locked out of the market.

Maynooth is not a flash in the pan. As I said, this has been happening in Dundrum, Leopardstown, Lucan, Lusk and many other areas for years. Last year more than 25% of all purchases were after construction. That is hundreds of millions of euro and the Tánaiste's Government cheerled for it. He stood in this Chamber just two weeks ago and said he believes it would be wrong to restrict these funds.

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