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

The Government has taken shamelessness to a whole new level in proceeding with this brazen amendment. Having promised to stop cuckoo funds snapping up homes, the Government is actively incentivising that and claiming it is doing the opposite. The people relying on the Government to do something about the vulture funds have been abandoned by it. The truth is that the Government promised to put a stamp duty increase on these funds and it is now reversing that by ramming through this amendment. It is disgraceful, dishonest and undignified. First-time buyers are already competing with local authorities and approved housing bodies for new homes. Now the Government has said they must compete with cuckoo funds too. Those cuckoo funds are lining up to enter into leasing agreements with local authorities because the Government is giving them such an incredible deal. Is it any wonder that one of the housing Minister's own advisers told him that 75% of funds in Ireland were banking on buying homes to lease to the State? The Government needs to get real. We learned today that cuckoo funds have spent €6.2 billion on the residential property market here since 2018. The Social Democrats call on the Government to end this free-for-all and to withdraw this disgraceful amendment.

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