Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This time last month The Connacht Tribunecarried a story that reported that a vulture fund - not just any vulture fund but the country's largest - was circling above my home county of Galway. The article stated that IRES REIT was "planning to roll out its highly profitable ‘buy-to-let’ model – a move that will drive up rents and house prices". This news was not welcomed by anyone who came into my clinic. These are people who are struggling to pay rent and just last week saw that rents have increased yet again, by 19% in County Galway and 8.8% in Galway city. People fear bills coming through the door. These are people who were served notices to quit by landlords and fear where they will go next. The build-to-rent model of these investment funds just drives up rents and prices. They are there to serve only the wealthiest in society.

We often hear from the Government that it is all about supply. As long as we are increasing the supply of homes, by whatever means, we can bring down rents. We know, however, and we have seen that funds are more than happy to let their properties sit idle, if they cannot get someone to pay that rent. They do not want to allow a situation where rents are falling, which will mean a falling yield on their asset. They are happy to maintain a situation of high rents. A few months ago, right outside where I live in my estate in Mervue, Galway, one of these build-to-rents was given planning permission for apartments to be constructed just outside Mervue. The people of Mervue were not happy to see that because, once again, they know and will see that their children and grandchildren will not benefit from this. They will not be able to pay those rents. It will just push them further away from home ownership and from even being able to rent.

The reality is the Government's housing policy is destroying generations of young people and older people. When I hear Ministers telling us that the Government's housing policy is working, I do not disagree with them. For me, the operational question is who exactly is it working for? Who is it benefiting? The answer is the investment funds and the large private developers serving them because our rental crisis, and that of the people of Galway, means record profits for them.

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