Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last month, the practice of investment funds and cuckoo funds, facilitated by the Government, buying up family homes wholesale and pushing home buyers out of the market was exposed but instead of shutting down these practices in their entirety, the Government only took half measures and took no action whatsoever on apartments. We now know the Taoiseach was warned by a senior official in the Department of Finance that failure to stop these funds from buying up entire apartment complexes and exempting apartments from the tax increases would make it impossible for first-time buyers to enter the market. Yet, the Taoiseach has persisted with an approach that allows for the wholesale snapping up of apartment blocks, leaving many people in the hands of absentee corporate landlords charging extortionate rents. Why did the Taoiseach ignore the advice of these officials? Why has he taken this course of action?

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