The incoming government should follow Spain\u2019s lead by bringing forward tough measures to tackle some of the root causes of the housing crisis, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.<\/p>\n
Deputy Hearne, who represents Dublin North-West, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile some of the Spanish prime minister\u2019s radical proposals are specific to Spain \u2013 such as punitive tax measures to clamp down on the high number of properties in tourist areas being purchased by non-EU investors \u2013 there are other parallels with Ireland\u2019s housing challenges, including skyrocketing rents and a chronic shortage of affordable homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Ireland, there are many measures that previous governments could have taken, but did not, to make a real difference to the lives of people trying to rent or buy a home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my constituency and across Dublin, we have seen a proliferation of high-rise unaffordable rental properties being built or bought up by institutional investors. This is all down to generous tax breaks for vulture funds, which should be abolished by the incoming administration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also need to see a ban on the bulk purchase of homes \u2013 including apartments \u2013 by wealthy investment funds. This could be achieved by introducing a 100 per cent stamp duty rate on vulture funds to deter them from snapping up multiple properties in housing estates or apartment complexes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe long overdue regulation of short-term lets, which would bring an estimated 12,000 properties back into the long-term rental market, must also be expedited.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition, the Social Democrats will continue to push for a vacancy tax with teeth to discourage owners from sitting on empty houses that could be brought into use for rent or purchase.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe real tragedy of Ireland\u2019s housing crisis is that there are obvious solutions to many of the barriers faced by those struggling to find a home of their own \u2013 the only thing lacking has been the political will to make the right choices.\u201d<\/p>\n
January 14, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The incoming government should follow Spain\u2019s lead by bringing forward tough measures to tackle some of the root causes of the housing crisis, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne, who represents Dublin North-West, said: \u201cWhile some of the Spanish prime minister\u2019s radical proposals are specific to Spain \u2013 such as punitive tax […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6078,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7,510],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-housing-crisis","category-press-release","category-rory-hearne"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n