Ban on Investment Funds Purchasing Family Homes: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-17
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Pearse Doherty (SF), Donegal

Let us have it straight. Let us talk about the facts here. I mentioned that 2,000 homes had been purchased by vulture funds over the past number of years. That is only the tip of the iceberg, however, because, as we know, vulture funds do not have to register up to ten homes that they purchase in any given year. Thousands and thousands of homes are being snatched up by vulture funds, big landlords and other companies. Most of them are second-hand homes. People are sick to the back teeth of this nonsense, and the Government will peddle it out again, that we need to attract more international capital. Nobody objects on this side of the House to international investment in the construction of houses and apartments. What we do have an objection to, what we do call out and what we say needs to stop is vulture funds swooping in at the last minute, buying up homes and driving up prices.
Will the Minister explain to me why we need investment funds buying second-hand homes. How does this deliver more housing supply? The answer is that it does not. It just drives up prices, plain and simple. Home ownership is collapsing under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. It is being sold off. I made this point many years ago when the Government introduced the fake measure that it said would ban vulture funds from buying up family homes. I said what it had done was to hang the white flag of surrender over the capital city of Dublin and other cities across this State.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:38+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-17