Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has accused the government parties of prioritising the interests of developers, landlords and investment funds at the expense of struggling workers and families.

Calling for a ban on investment funds buying family homes in the Dáil last night, Teachta Crowe said:

“When big funds enter residential markets with deep pockets and all the tax advantages Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael magicians can conjure up, working families are effectively shut out of their own housing market.

“Workers, young couples, nurses, teachers, doctors, gardaí, construction workers and so many more simply cannot compete financially with institutional buyers, which can outbid any offer and absorb homes that should be available first to Irish families.

“For years, Sinn Féin has warned that allowing vulture funds and investment vehicles to swoop in and hoover up homes makes the housing crisis worse, not better. These funds see these properties not as homes but as profit-making assets, nothing more than entries in a spreadsheet, while children grow up in family hubs or a relative’s box room.

“The vulture funds can outbid ordinary buyers and then extract obscene rental income, pushing up average rents because their focus is on profit, not community or stability. We have already seen historic numbers of homes snapped up. In some estates, 85% of them have been sold to investment funds, leaving those who have scrimped and saved for home ownership fighting against each other for whatever is left.

“The Government’s small stamp duty increase does nothing to stop this corrosive practice. It has tinkered at the edges while this practice continues. Why do we allow entities with effectively unlimited means to outbid families for homes? Who does this benefit? Not ordinary workers or families.

“Homes are not commodities; they are the foundation blocks of family life and community. Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Government Independents must stop prioritising the interests of developers, landlords and investment funds at the expense of struggling workers and families. The Government must ban investment funds from buying family homes.”