The Minister of State talked about scrutiny of this legislation and he will be well aware that the next step in the legislative process is pre-legislative scrutiny. If he had responded to my contribution as opposed to just reading the script, he would have heard me say that the next step would allow us to really scrutinise the implications of the recommendation of the Convention on the Constitution, which was to amend Article 17.2 of the Constitution. He would have heard me say that we would have the ability to bri…

Inné, thug an Rialtas teachtaireacht shoiléir d’úinéirí tithe agus iad siúd atá ag iarraidh a bheith i mbun úinéireacht tithe. Sin é, nach bhfuil fáilte rompu anseo sa chathair ach go bhfuil fáilte mhór - céad míle fáilte - ón Rialtas roimh na creach-chistí a bheidh ag ceannach árasán i ndiaidh árasán sa chathair seo, agus níos faide ar shiúl, agus ag fágáil teaghlach agus daoine óga ar an trá fholamh. The Minister led the Green Party into government saying that things would be different on housing, but, instead of…

Has the Minister not listened to the testimonies from those people that I read into the record? They are desperately looking for action and hope, and the action the Minister delivered in the past seven days, along with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, was to come in here and vote against banning rent increases and reducing rents. The action he delivered was voting against proposals Sinn Féin brought forward with regard to increasing the supply of social, affordable and cost-rental housing. Last night, shamefully, the Gre…

Perhaps the Minister does not realise it but he has abandoned this generation, just like Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have done for the past decade.

I raise a matter that is affecting thousands of families and homeowners in my county and County Mayo. It is a problem not of their own making and it concerns defective concrete blocks or the mica crisis. It has resulted in thousands of homeowners watching their houses crumble before their very eyes. It is absolutely heartbreaking to see. It is abundantly clear the redress scheme that was introduced in January last year is not fit for purpose as the difference between the grant payable and the cost of the works requ…

-----in affected homes. Will the Government support the mica redress scheme providing the same level of redress?

What action will the Government take to improve the scheme and resolve this matter for nearly 6,000 families across those two counties?

I move amendment No. 12: After section 31E, to insert the following new section: " Report on Application of a Stamp Duty Charge on the Purchase of Apartments by Investment Funds 31F . The Minister shall within 14 days from the passing of this Resolution prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the impact of deleting subsection (6)(a) of Section 31E and including residential units in an apartment block as a relevant residential unit to which the higher rate of stamp duty will apply as a consequence of this Re…

Are there arrangements in terms of the amendments?

In that respect, I have moved the amendment and I will push it to a vote. It is an amendment to include apartments under the scope of the higher rate of stamp duty. I say to the Minister once again, apartments are also homes.

I move amendment No. 14: After section 31E, to insert the following new section: "Report on Ending the Tax Regime applicable to Investment Funds in the Residential Property Market 31F. The Minister shall within 14 days from the passing of this Resolution prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the tax status enjoyed by investment funds in the residential property market and the application of corporation tax on the rental profits of, and the application of, capital gains tax on the disposal of assets by, in…

The provision of affordable housing is a fundamental duty of the State. I commend Deputy Ó Broin on all the work he has done in putting this front and centre. There is no doubt that this and previous Governments have abjectly failed in their duty to provide affordable housing. Housing has become unaffordable and the majority of workers and families are locked out. Since February 2012 house prices have doubled in Dublin. The same story is told right across the State. Since 2016, house prices have jumped by 30%, whil…

Yesterday, the CSO reported that house prices had risen by 4% in the past year and that, since February 2012, property prices here in Dublin had increased by a staggering 98%. In this city house prices have doubled. The same picture can be seen right across the State. The Tánaiste has sat at the Cabinet table for the entirety of this period. This is the Tánaiste's record. This week has rightly been dominated by the housing issue, which has been described as a social crisis. A report published on Tuesday by the ESRI…

"Leo always delivers" was the text message that sparked what is now the criminal investigation into the leaking of confidential documents. The question many people are asking, however, is when Leo will deliver for the renters and for people who want to own their own homes in this city and beyond, and when Leo will deliver to make sure the wings of the vulture funds are clipped. The Tánaiste suggests that this was back in 2012 and 2013. In 2019, six out of ten homes sold in Dublin were bought up by these vulture fun…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — the housing crisis continues to spiral out of control; — residential property prices have increased by 3 per cent in the 12 months to February; — residential property prices have increased by 88.5 per cent since early 2013; — high rents and residential property prices are making it increasingly difficult for workers, families and struggling home buyers to purchase and own their own home; — institutional investors holding rental property avail of significant tax advantages an…

Get out of here.

Gabhaim buíochas le achan duine a labhair sa díospóireacht inniu, go háirithe na Teachtaí a thug tacaíocht don rún os ár gcomhair. I listened to the words of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and, to say the God's honest truth, if the situation were not as serious and if so many people had not had their hopes, dreams and aspirations dashed as a result of Government policy, they would be laughable. Here is a Fianna Fáil Minister, himself an investor at the peak of the boom in regard to one of t…

I will explain it to him in case he does not understand. The reason we oppose the shared equity scheme is very simple. We believe it risks increasing house prices for people who are already locked out of the market. The Minister need not take our word for it. The Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, the ESRI and the Central Bank have all warned him about the scheme. He can do his amused thing all he wants but people are suffering as a result of the policies of his party and Fine Gael. He might …

We have been putting forward the proposals set out in this motion year after year in the debate on the Finance Bill. Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party voted against even looking at the idea of additional stamp duty on these types of funds just six months ago. Those parties voted against even looking at that because they want the status quo . Now, because of the public anger, they are running around like headless chickens. There are proposals here to deal with this issue. The Government should support this …

Le beagnach seachtain anuas tá deireadh tragóideach agus cuibhdhe tagtha le polasaí páirtí an Tánaiste agus polasaí an Rialtais. Tá mórchuid na dtithe in eastáit chónaithe sa Stát ceannaithe ag ciste infheistíochta idirnáisiúnta. Le beannacht an Rialtais seo, ní íocann na cistí seo cáin ar bith ar an phroifid a dhéanann siad. Le beannacht an Rialtais seo, tá siad ag glasáil teaghlaigh agus oibrithe amach as úinéireacht tithe. Last weekend, Round Hill Capital, an international investment fund, bought up most of a ne…