Housing remains the single biggest emergency that families and communities face in Ireland. It affects every aspect of our society, from families languishing on council housing lists for 16 years and more, never sure if the dreaded eviction notice is going to land, to teachers, nurses, doctors, gardaí and skilled workers having to move abroad where they can afford mortgages and rents. They cannot do it here. All this is happening while the vulture funds hover, waiting to buy up entire estates. There is nothing acceptable about vulture funds bulk-buying at the expense of workers, families and struggling home buyers. It happens because the Government allows it to happen. In less than five years, house prices have gone up by nearly 50%, with vulture funds competing with ordinary people and driving up prices. While facilitating investment funds in buying up homes, the Government is doing nothing to support the tenant in situ scheme. This scheme was one way of preventing homelessness but the Government has cut the funding and virtually put an end to the scheme. This is having a hugely negative effect on the lives of people living in my constituency. One man working in a haulage company in Swords was left homeless due to a no-fault eviction. He ended up living in the company truck during the week and sleeping on the streets every weekend. He then ended up in hospital quite ill. He has since been discharged back to homelessness and back onto the streets. The home of a struggling young father from Donabate was sold by his landlord and his children had to go back to live in an abusive situation. The father sleeps in a local park and his son is constantly running away from home to be with his dad at the park. These are only two examples of the growing number of cases I am dealing with every single day in my constituency office in Swords. This is the nightmare of Dublin today and the Government is the cause of this. However, it does not have to be like that. Tonight's motion calls on the Government to ban investment funds from buying up family homes. The choice is the Minister's: either he stands with the ordinary people of Ireland or he stands with developers, landlords and vulture funds.

Sentiment score: -0.28