Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister should check the figures published today. He probably has not seen them as he was here going through the Bill. I ask him to come back to me tomorrow. Everyone knows the target figures set by the Government and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, of just over 30,000 houses a year are too low. Then we hear the Minister say the Government will hold a review and look at the data. I do not know. It just shows how out of touch the Minister is if he thinks 30,000 houses a year will solve the housing crisis. The man has no understanding of what is happening on the ground. He is so out of touch.

These are not our figures. Every group, AHB and local authority, as well as the private sector, is saying the same thing. The figures released today show that one in every four houses in Cork is not being bought by owner-occupiers. They are being bought by investment funds, vulture funds, cuckoo funds and landlords. These are houses families should be living in. This Government is allowing loopholes to exist in order that these funds can buy them up and block ordinary people from living there. The Government brought out-----

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