Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is utterly useless. It is useless, fruitless and toothless. Four out of every ten houses now are being bought by conglomerates from abroad. Did you ever see the beat of it? We are in a housing crisis and the Government will not wake up to the fact it is a housing crisis. We have different schemes to get houses built, we are talking about output and whatever else, and yet we are selling off 40% of them to foreign entities. We had a kite-flying exercise by the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, some weeks ago when he suggested the stamp duty would be raised to 20%. Now it is 15%. It should be 100% for these people unless they live in Ireland, have lived here for five years, and unless they can prove they are here for a valid reason, have a business here or are working here.

Canada and Australia have done it, but here in Ireland, in a housing crisis, we cannot do it. We say "come on" to all of these big foreign conglomerates and ask them to buy up our land too, where they are buying Coillte land and public land. Ireland is for sale with this Government; that is what it is. The men and women of 1916, 1921 and 1923 would be ashamed and be turning in their graves with what this Government is doing. It is selling out our country. The Government is inviting these companies in here. How are a young couple or a single person to get on to the property ladder when there is this naked basic sale of our assets, our properties and our houses? The Government then talks about housing and what it is going to do. The stamp duty should be set at least at a minimum of 50%.

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