Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I lend my voice to the outcry against the mass purchasing of newly built housing units. The news headlines this past week have been salt in the wounds of many in this country whose hope of owning their own home is fast fading. The complexities of the housing market do not often lend themselves to easy fixes. Surely this makes it all the more important to seize the opportunities we see to put a quick stop to bad practice. In this vein, the recent comments from the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Taoiseach expressing their dismay at this occurrence are welcome. However, words come cheap unless they are printed on Oireachtas paper and signed by the President. Let us see the legislation put before these Houses that will see new homes going to new buyers and not overseas speculators.

Houses will solve this housing crisis. The Government recognises this, which begs the question as to why county councils around the country being told to dezone fully serviced sites. Meath could deliver 10,000 homes to the people of the county and yet the Planning Regulator and Minister continue to artificially suppress this number by throttling the ability of the county development plan to meet the needs of local communities and the country as a while. Despite the recent media hype about this phenomenon, the snapping up of hundreds of units is not a recent development. This has been going on for years, ever since these global real estate investment trusts were given free rein via tax breaks in an attempt to taxidermy the Celtic tiger. Now that we see fully the knock-on effects of such practices, let us reconsider.These funds have been referred to as vultures ready to swoop on investments and as cuckoos stealing the nests of ordinary people. Let us have that system go the way of the dodo and be rid of it for good.