Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this draft financial resolution. Like many, I watched the "Prime Time" special a fortnight ago in which we saw Peter Melrose and his fiancée, who are of a similar age to myself, standing outside Mullen Park, literally and metaphorically locked out from the houses there. They had no opportunity to buy them. It is what they had aspired to do. They aspired, after marriage, to have a family and settle down there. Is it not what every young couple dreams of? The couple was fully denied this because in came a cuckoo fund and bought up all the properties. It was appalling. It made for shocking viewing. In the following days, it became public knowledge that this practice was far more widespread. It has not happened thus far in my county, Clare, but it has caused major concern among constituents, particularly the young.

The resolution before us is positive. It seeks to impose a stamp duty charge of 10% on the multiple purchase of ten or more houses. Today is 19 May. As we transition from May into June, we will need to have flexibility. If this deterrent is not seen to be sufficient enough, we should consider an even higher rate of stamp duty and perhaps lower the threshold of ten properties to four or five. There was space for investment funds in the property market at one point in that they brought a surge of capital when there was very little. However, seeing them buying up properties in one fell swoop, denying young first-time buyers the opportunity to own a home, is definitely what we want to discourage.

The introduction of a higher stamp duty rate for the bulk purchase of houses is aimed at discouraging the practice whereby institutional investors buy up all the homes close to completion or fully completed, thereby depriving first-time buyers of their chance to own a home. The stamp duty proposed is ten times the normal rate of stamp duty applicable to residential properties and 30% higher than the rate that currently applies to commercial properties. It will add significantly to the purchasing cost, which it is hoped will be a deterrent. If it is not sufficient, we will need to increase the rate and lower the threshold for the number of houses. It is important that we ensure that owning a home, to which every young couple strives, is possible and remains a priority for the Government.

There was an exposé on properties this week by Clare FM in my county. The station examined rent pressure zones and the disparity in what people are paying in rent in different parts of the county and in the thresholds for rent pressure zones set by the Department. There are major anomalies. The current criterion is based on electoral divisions. As the Minister probably knows well from his constituency, these do not fully reflect the make-up of the locality. Some properties in my electoral area, Shannon, where I served up until 14 months ago, are being rented out for €1,500 per month while others are being rented for €700 or €800. The Kilrush electoral area encompasses the small village of Lissycasey, which is quite close to Ennis. The rents there are quite high but further out the Loop Head peninsula, in places such as Carrigaholt, the rents are low. Therefore, the metric is a little outdated. The income thresholds for people qualifying for social housing are also very outdated. They were set in 2011 when incomes, rents and property prices were very different. Everything seems to have changed in the interim, including taxation. Pay deals have been struck in the public service, for example. Many things have changed but the thresholds in place for those seeking to avail of social housing supports have not been amended in the same period. This needs to be examined. The measures being introduced tonight offer a safety net under the initiatives the Government announced ten days ago to make housing affordable once again to first-time buyers.

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