Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Last year more than 21,000 Irish citizens were granted Australian working holiday visas. This was the highest recorded figure in 16 years. Even during the 2008 crash just 12,847 visas for Australia were issued. A figure of 21,000 last year when we have full employment in this country is extraordinary. It is something we should be talking about in this House because clearly it is no country for young people. Those young people are now voting with their feet. Many of them do not want to leave but they feel they have no other choice if they do not want to spend their entire 20s and 30s, even into their 40s, living in their childhood bedrooms while their life is passing them by.

Increasingly people just have no hope for their housing prospects in Ireland. Rents have doubled in the past decade and young people simply cannot afford them. Record house prices mean that dreams of home ownership are long gone. Housing is more than an investment vehicle and it is about more than bricks and mortar. It is about independence, security, relationships and starting a family. It is the foundation for so much that is central to a happy life but that foundation is missing now for an entire generation.

How does the Minister think it feels for those people and for their parents when the Minister's approach is tried, tested and has failed, and yet he consistently comes in here in a state of denial making promises that are later broken and setting targets that are not met? We have now heard promises for years that things will get better. Simultaneously, we are seeing reports that an investment fund bought up 85% of the homes in a Dublin housing estate, which is just the latest example that things are not changing.

The flippant attitude of the Minister and his Government towards this speaks volumes. Government Deputies have spent the last week down-playing it and the Minister has just done the same here. The fact that the Minister has not bothered to close such a gaping loophole tells us all we need to know about where his priorities lie. It is not with vulnerable renters or struggling first-time buyers who obviously cannot compete with €800 million funds that are cashing in on a crisis. Those 46 homes in Dublin are now on the rental market for €3,125 per month. This is rent of €37,500 a year. This is why 21,000 young people left this country to go to Australia last year. This is why it is obvious to everyone that the Minister's approach is not working. This is why people have run out of hope.

It is my belief that the only thing that will change this is a change of Government but perhaps the Minister will prove us wrong. The Minister's 10% stamp duty on the bulk purchase of homes is clearly no disincentive to funds that are making super profits from a housing crisis. Sinn Féin's proposal to increase it to 17% will not work either. It is too weak. My colleague, Deputy Cian O'Callaghan has put down an amendment to increase stamp duty on bulk purchase homes to 200%. It is an effective ban. We need an effective ban on the bulk purchase of homes. Will the Minister do that and make some effort to at least deal with that low-hanging fruit?

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