Cathy Flanagan

Ireland's housing system is not fit for purpose as it fails to deter vulture funds from buying properties that could be homes for individual buyers. On May 20, 2021, the Irish Government introduced a 10% stamp duty on bulk purchases of residential houses. This measure aimed to discourage large-scale acquisitions by investors and vulture funds. However, the policy has two notable exemptions: bulk buying of apartments in multi-storey buildings with grouped access, and purchases by local authorities and approved housing bodies. These entities are not subject to the 10% stamp duty on bulk purchases of residential houses. This is one of the reasons why the housing system is broken in Ireland. Deutsche Bank's €800 billion investment arm fund has acquired 85% (46 homes) in Belcamp Manor, Dublin 17 for €24.5 million. Originally intended for individual buyers, these properties were being advertised for rent at €3,175 per month (€38,100 per year) by a London-based real estate investment fund on Draft.ie It is no surprise that in the past 13 years, rent in Ireland has doubled, and house prices have increased by 55%, making it the fastest growth in any major EU economy. Currently, vulture funds own 1 in 6 mortgages in the Irish housing market, while Cuckoo funds and the State purchase 42% of new homes. This leaves a record number of first-time buyers competing for the lowest supply of housing stock nationwide in over a decade. There are just over 11,000 homes available for purchase nationally, the fewest since 2012 when 60,000 homes were on the market. The 2022 Census reveals that there are 166,752 vacant homes and 66,135 vacant holiday homes across the country. Out of the vacant homes, almost a third (48,387) have been vacant long-term since 2016 and remain unused. Additionally, the current salary required to buy a new home in Dublin is €127,000, which exceeds even a TD's basic salary of €108,987. Meanwhile, in December 2023, there were 18,648 entire houses/apartments available on the short-term letting platform Airbnb in Ireland. This includes 4,666 listings in Dublin City whilst the number of people living in emergency accommodation reached another record high of 14,429 in July—including 2,096 families (up 14%) and 4,401 children (a 15% rise since July 2023). In Dublin alone, 10,487 people were homeless—another new record—with 3,289 of those being children. #Dublin #Ireland #HousingCrisis #DerelictIreland #VacantIreland #homeless #Airbnb

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