‘Serious anger about the housing crisis and it is not going away’
By Maurice Garvey
TD BRID Smith (PBP) has called for a ban on vulture and cuckoo funds, which is effectively using it’s resources to out-bid first time buyers in Ireland.
The government has been under pressure to clamp down on investment funds block-buying new housing developments.
Protestors with Deputy Brid Smith outside the Crumlin Area office of Dublin City Council
Speaking at a PBP housing protest outside the Crumlin Area Office of Dublin City Council in Crumlin Village on Saturday morning, Deputy Smith said: “[There’s] serious anger about the housing crisis and it is not going away.”
“Young people living with sky high rents and insecure accommodation. Families suffering in extremely overcrowded situations, often with three generations under one roof.
“People of all ages forced into homelessness, having done nothing wrong, being evicted by unscrupulous landlords who want to profit off rising property prices and rents. This misery has all been caused by the housing policy of successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael led governments,” said Deputy Smith.
“Since 2012 house prices are up 98 per cent and rents have increased 92 per cent. All of this, while there are 200,000 vacant homes in the state.
“We need to fix this now. We need to ban vulture and cuckoo funds.
“We need real rent controls and tenants’ rights. We need to build public housing and to stop the sell off of public land and we need to tax vacant property which is being hoarded by speculators.”
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