Paul Murphy accuses government over 'cuckoo funds' U-turn
Paul Murphy accused the government of performing an 'incredible U-turn' that favours 'cuckoo' and vulture funds and criticised a proposed tax break to encourage leasing from corporate landlords. He warned the move would squeeze out first-time buyers and divert public money away from building public housing.
U-turn and lobbying question
Murphy challenged the Tánaiste and the government over what he called an 'incredible U-turn', asking what prompted the change and whether there had been lobbying by cuckoo funds and vulture funds. He said the government had previously pledged to 'clip their wings' and then appeared to insert incentives for bulk buying into unrelated legislation.
Concerns for first-time buyers and public funds
He argued the proposed tax break would incentivise funds to lease more housing, further squeezing ordinary people trying to buy a home and seeing public money that should go into building public housing instead line the pockets of corporate landlords.
Stamp duty and planning measures
Murphy noted that an increase to 10% stamp duty on funds had been signalled by the minister and that planning decisions by the minister combined with that measure to make fund purchases more restrictive. He said those steps were intended to prevent funds from competing with first-time buyers and to give first-time buyers a better chance in the market.
Leasing model and social housing delivery
He said the state should move to a different leasing model and 'own the local debt', while stressing that leasing is not the dominant model of social housing provision. Murphy highlighted an immediate opportunity to provide 2,400 social houses through leasing and said up to 80% of provision currently comes through approved bodies or local authorities.
Alternative strategy and housing targets
Murphy referenced the Housing for All strategy, urged a return to local authority building, and called for expanded cost-rental schemes using the Land Development Agency and local authorities to deliver affordable housing. He noted the state target of about 19,000 to 20,000 houses for 2021 was insufficient and welcomed approval of the Shangana proposal as a mix of social, affordable and cost rental housing.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Thanks Cancord, I also want to focus on this incredible U-turn in the direction of a big sign saying profits for cuckoo funds and for two days now in the Dáil you have been seeking to avoid answering the question what prompted this U-turn because two months ago you at last admitted that something had to be done to tackle the vulture funds and the cuckoo funds dominating our Irish housing you pledged that you would clip their wings and then you snuck in to an unrelated bill a incentive to bulk buy new housing two months ago you said councils should stop leasing from these vultures today you're proposing a tax break to encourage them to do so this will not only further incentivize the funds squeezing out ordinary people trying to buy a home it will see more and more public money that should be going into building public housing instead lining the pockets of these cuckoo funds so Tisha the question is what prompted this U-turn was there lobbying by the cuckoo funds and the vulture funds or why are you taking a position that so clearly and blatantly and obviously places the government on the sides of the cuckoo funds the vulture funds the corporate landlords of the procure and not on the sides of those the ordinary people first of all um we've got a number of um just get to the deputies gave raised a rangegar of issues here uh particularly did that this stamp duty issue which by the way was signaled uh some time ago by a minister was done uh and o'brien in the context of the the decision to increase to 10% in terms of 10% stamp duty on funds so that it could not compete with first-time buyers, allied with planning decisions made by Minister O'Brien, and both combined measures then making it far more restrictive and essentially allowing the first-time buyers in terms of buying houses in estates and so on, giving them that opportunity, which of course they couldn't compete with the funds prior to those decisions being taken. At the time it was signalled in relation to leasing for social housing that they would be making provision for that. Now, the reason being, and by the way, we need to move to a different model of leasing. The state should own the local debt. That's why I believe that, right? Secondly, Deputy Buy Barrett, I don't believe the state should be competing with first-time buyers to buy houses. I don't believe that either. No, it's not better. No, it's not actually. It's better than letting them do it. It's not better. It's not better because it's squeezing first-time buyers out of the market. And the real issue is we're in transition here. We're a year in government. The Housing for All strategy will make this transition. From the current leasing, there's been some in the pipeline, but there is an immediate issue of 2,400 houses, social housing that can be provided through this leasing model. Hold on a second now, please. Just make the point. We want those 2,400 families housed. Now, local authorities need to develop, in some instances, capacity and land to get into direct build. The leasing that we're talking about here, by the way, is not the dominant form or model of provision of social housing at all. Now, that gets lost in the debate because one would imagine that every social house is going to be leased. It's not. Up to 80% right now will be either through approved social housing bodies or local authorities. That needs to increase. In my view, we need to go back to the days when local authorities built houses and built social houses. And that's what we want. Now, that will need capacity build-up in some of the local authorities, which you've acknowledged yourself, to be fair, in your presentation. Some of them need to get back to that, and they need to get into their heads. That's where it's going in terms of social housing. The state is also saying we have to get involved through the Land Development Agency and through local authorities to do affordable housing also, and provide opportunities. Because at the moment, we're at about 19,000 to 20,000 houses for 2021. It was 20,000 last year. That's not enough. It just isn't enough. But all I see is sloganeering, having a cut, objecting to this, that and the other, in the midst of a housing. Gave you a proposal. You take Shangana. Do you not take any bona fides? The government just approved the Shangana proposal, which involves social, affordable and cost rental. This year, we have the first major cost rental initiatives and scheme. I want to expand that, where people can rent quite significantly below the market rate, enhancing affordability on the rental market for people and workers in particular. Thank you.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
