The Social Democrats will bring a motion before the D\u00e1il on Wednesday (February 19) calling on the Government to introduce a range of measures to address the housing and rental crises.<\/p>\n
The motion proposes the closure of loopholes that allow investment funds to aggressively avoid tax; a 100 per cent stamp duty rate on the bulk purchase of homes to effectively ban the practice; and an increase in early-stage finance to approved housing bodies and local authorities so they can ramp up the delivery of genuinely affordable homes to rent and buy.<\/p>\n
The Soc Dems are also calling for the retention of Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) until such a time there is an alternative system ready to be put in place that can protect renters.<\/p>\n
Rory Hearne, the party\u2019s housing spokesperson, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cHousing delivery in Ireland is not just slowing down \u2013 it is reducing. The Taoiseach, T\u00e1naiste and former Housing Minister Darragh O\u2019Brien repeatedly promised to deliver 40,000 homes last year but spectacularly failed to achieve this.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end, just 30,330 homes were completed \u2013 down nearly seven per cent compared to 2023 \u2013 which exposes their exaggerated projections as nothing more than pre-election gimmickry.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn true Fianna F\u00e1il and Fine Gael fashion, the new Government believes that the only way to get more finance to build homes is to incentivise funds \u2013 which means further tax breaks for investors and existing rent controls such as RPZs being stripped away so they can charge rack rents.<\/p>\n
“Confirmation that the Government is considering Section 23 type tax incentives to boost construction is proof it is all out of ideas when it comes to meeting the housing challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the Government is conveniently ignoring alternative EU streams of finance available to them, such as InvestEU and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) \u2013 something that was recommended in an expert report commissioned by a Fianna F\u00e1il MEP in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe State could also introduce a savings scheme, like the French Livret A model, to leverage some of the \u20ac160bn in Irish household savings and invest it in affordable housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government is choosing to ignore obvious solutions to the housing crisis. Instead of opting for a radical reset of housing policy, as recommended by the Housing Commission, they are dusting down the failed Celtic Tiger playbook \u2013 and we all know where that got us.\u201d<\/p>\n