I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: acknowledges that: — the new housing plan 'Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030: An Action Plan on Housing Supply and Targeting Homelessness', is focussed on putting in place the conditions to enable delivery of a minimum of 300,000 new homes between 2025 and 2030; — the plan includes a commitment to deliver 72,000 social homes, and provide 90,000 affordable supports, to help people secure a home of their own; — it seeks to significantly accelerate delivery of new homes by focusing on activating land and creating the optimal environment to encourage housing activity, including regulatory reform, tax incentives and the largest ever capital investment in the history of the State, with €275 billion invested in infrastructure over 10 years, through the National Development Plan; — to accelerate future supply, Budget 2026 included a suite of taxation measures aimed at stimulating the supply of new apartments, including a reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) rate and an enhanced Corporation Tax deduction for apartment construction costs; — the revised National Planning Framework, published in April 2025, is a major step forward in this regard, and will help increase capacity and accelerate home building across the country; — over the last five years, almost 149,000 new homes have been delivered, which compares with 83,267 in the previous five-year period, and just 29,217 in the five years before that; — a total of 36,284 new dwellings were completed in 2025, an increase of 20 per cent year-on-year; — the unprecedented level of investment that Government has committed will bring about a very significant scale-up in the delivery of housing over the coming years, address the needs of the most vulnerable in our communities, make buying and renting homes more affordable, and support the development of villages, towns and cities across the country; and — the delivery of 300,000 homes by 2030 will, however, require an estimated €20 billion in development finance each year, a significant portion of which will need to come from investment by the private sector, to support home ownership and a well-functioning private rental market; recognises that: — Government has implemented several measures in recent years, including an 'owner occupier guarantee' and stamp duty measures, to ensure a balanced housing market across all tenures, including home ownership, social housing and private rental; — the issuing in 2021, of the Section 28 Guidelines for planning authorities on the Regulation of Commercial Institutional Investment in Housing, aims to restrict the practice of multiple housing and duplex units being sold to a single buyer, and these guidelines ensure that new 'own-door' houses and duplex units in lower-density housing developments can no longer be bulk-purchased by institutional investors in a manner that causes the displacement of individual purchasers or social and affordable housing, including cost-rental; — these guidelines, setting out the 'owner-occupier' guarantee, also ensure that 'home ownership' is included as a specific tenure type within a local authority's housing strategy; — in May 2021, as an additional measure to tackle the bulk acquisition of new houses, a Stamp Duty rate of 10 per cent was introduced, where 10 or more houses were acquired in any 12 month period, and in 2025, this rate was increased to 15 per cent; — these measures have succeeded in preventing the inappropriate bulk purchase of a very significant number of homes, and securing those homes for purchase by homeowners; — as of Q4 2025, since May 2021, a total estimate of 63,962 houses and duplex units received planning permission, with conditions restricting the bulk purchasing or multiple sales to a single purchaser; — based on provisional data from the Revenue Commissioners, bulk purchased homes are reducing year-on-year since 2023, and in 2025, 293 homes were bulk purchased, down from 675 in 2023; — the Programme for Government commits to maintaining the 'owner occupier guarantee', thereby continuing to prohibit the inappropriate bulk purchase of homes, and securing homes for homeownership; — the measures outlined are having the desired effect regarding family homes, and the Government has rightly not applied those to apartments, as it recognises the positive role institutional investment needs to play in developing apartment supply as set out in the Delivering Homes, Building Communities housing plan; and — Budget 2026 included a suite of taxation measures aimed at stimulating the supply of new apartments, including a reduced VAT rate on new apartments, and an enhanced Corporation Tax deduction for apartment construction costs; and affirms Government efforts to: — continue to bring forward measures that will increase the supply of new homes across all tenures, to make sure that everyone has a range of housing options available to them, whether they want to buy a house, rent one, or are in need of social housing; — adequately resource the Land Development Agency (LDA), to deliver an increased quantum of new homes, noting Government already recently increased resourcing to the agency; — diversify sources of investment, noting the level of investment required in the long term cannot be solely the responsibility of the State, and it will also require a very significant level of private investment, including appropriate institutional capital investment, essential for the delivery of critically needed private rented stock; — prioritise infrastructure development as critical means for increasing housing supply, noting the establishment of the Housing Activation Office and the new Infrastructure Investment Fund, to coordinate homebuilding and investment in the servicing of zoned lands; — expand the capacity of the construction sector as another key measure to scale-up delivery to the levels necessary by 2030, and thereafter building on ongoing measures to tackle barriers in construction careers, promote career opportunities, and make construction more attractive to women; — build on the significant number of social and affordable homes provided in 2025, expanding State investment, supplemented by LDA investment and Housing Finance Agency lending; — ensure that Home Building Finance Ireland has the capacity and flexibility to continue to respond to funding gaps, and support increased housing delivery nationwide; — improve equity availability for homebuilding through the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund's new €600 million equity programme, in partnership with the national banks; — boost homeownership, and help support younger people seeking autonomy in the housing market, through measures like the First Home Scheme, Help-to-Buy Scheme, and the Local Authority Home Loan Scheme; and — tackle homelessness through a suite of cross-Government responses, acknowledging that homelessness is a complex issue, requiring multifaceted responses to deal with varying causal factors and family circumstances. I thank the Sinn Féin Deputies for tabling the motion before the House, which relates to investment funds purchasing family homes. I welcome the opportunity to respond to the motion. While the Government cannot support the motion, I welcome the opportunity to set out the Government's clear and robust position on the issues the motion raises and to table a countermotion. Housing, in both supply and affordability, is a defining social and economic challenge of this country, although certainly not of Ireland alone. Tackling the housing crisis is my absolute priority as Minister, and there should be no doubt about that in the House. Housing is the single greatest pressure facing families and working people who aspire to a secure home of their own. I spoke to advocacy organisation Threshold just yesterday evening about its latest rental survey covering the island of Ireland, which reflects these concerns and fears among people in the Republic and in the North. It is in housing where the Government is mobilising the most significant resources in the history of the State. We recognise the frustration that exists with housing as it is now for people and for their families. We recognise the strain being caused by rising prices and rents. We recognise the anxiety of those who have not purchased a home yet as they save and save for a mortgage, and who fear that owning a home may be some way away. The dignity of having your own door, be it through social housing, affordable housing supports from the Government, cost rental or private purchase, is essential. As Minister, I want to ensure people have a safe and secure home to grow up in and to grow old in. In this vein it is simply not credible to suggest that the Government has stood idly by. We are not indifferent to the impact of bulk purchasing. The facts demonstrate that sustained, practical and effective action has been taken. The Government's approach is to significantly restrict bulk purchasing. In effect, as we will outline today, we are disincentivising bulk purchasing in favour of individual private homeownership. In 2021, the section 28 planning guidelines were introduced to regulate commercial institutional investment in housing. These guidelines ensure that new own-door houses and what are called duplex units in lower-density developments cannot be bulk purchased in a way that displaces individual buyers or social and affordable housing. This is essential. Since May 2021, planning permissions covering 63,962 houses and duplex units have included conditions restricting bulk purchasing or multiple sales to a single purchaser. In addition, we introduced a higher rate of stamp duty where ten or more houses are acquired within a 12-month period. This rate was increased to 15% in budget 2025. These measures have materially changed market behaviour and have secured thousands of homes for individual purchasers rather than institutional investors. It is important, in the context of this debate, to focus on the evidence. The combined effect of these policies is now clearly visible in the data. Revenue's provisional figures show that 675 properties were subject to the higher stamp duty rate in 2023, falling to 396 in 2024 and further to 293 in 2025, with the total value of such acquisitions declining sharply over the same period, from €266.1 million in 2023 to approximately €88.3 million in 2025. In other words, since these strengthened measures took effect, the number of homes being bulk acquired has fallen year on year, and this is welcome. Crucially, Central Statistics Office data shows that institutional investors have become net sellers of houses, selling more homes than they purchased in 2024. These trends, borne out by independent national statistics, demonstrate that the policy interventions introduced by the Government are having the intended effect. We have also committed in our programme for Government to maintaining the owner-occupier guarantee. This commitment stands. We set out a clear policy view in our new national housing action plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, when it was launched last November. We acknowledged that even with the largest housing budget in the history of the State providing unprecedented levels of investment in housing, the Government cannot fund all of the approximately €20 billion per annum of development finance needed. The majority of the additional finance needed will be sourced from private sources. It is imperative that private capital is attracted into home building across the country, and this includes from international sources. The attraction of sustainable capital will support our aims to provide more homes and ensure a well-functioning private market, in tandem with driving forward on our social and affordable programmes. Our new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, is building on the strongest period of housing delivery in a generation. Over the past five years almost 149,000 new homes have been delivered. This represents a step change in output on previous years. The new plan is ambitious. It commits to delivering 300,000 new homes over its lifetime, including 72,000 new social homes and 90,000 affordable housing supports to help people to buy or rent at a cost they can sustain. Let me be very clear that these figures are not a ceiling. If we can exceed them, we will, because increasing supply is the single most important lever we have to moderate prices, improve affordability, reduce homelessness and increase homeownership for families and ordinary working people. The plan rests on two core pillars: activating supply and supporting people. The first pillar, activating supply, is about removing the structural barriers that constrain housing output. It is about unlocking land, reforming and accelerating planning, investing in water, energy and transport infrastructure, and addressing viability challenges so that homes can be built where they are needed. At the same time, we are expanding construction capacity through apprenticeships and modern methods of construction, and bringing vacant and derelict homes back into use through grants and a new derelict property tax. The second pillar, supporting people, recognises that supply alone is not enough. We must ensure that those most impacted by the housing crisis are supported directly and effectively. Homelessness remains the most urgent social challenge we face. It is at levels that I find unacceptable. Any level of homelessness is unacceptable. We are developing a focused child and family homelessness action plan to prevent families from entering homelessness in the first place. That is why we are expanding Housing First to provide more than 2,000 wraparound tenancies. For older people, disabled people and those with access needs, we are implementing the national housing strategy for disabled people and increasing funding under the housing adaptation grant. For our Traveller community, we are continuing investment in high-quality Traveller-specific accommodation. An inclusive housing system must meet the needs of every member of society. I know this is fundamental to cohesiveness throughout Ireland. Over the lifetime of the action plan, we will deliver an average of 12,000 new social homes each year. That is an unprecedented commitment. In parallel, we will provide an average of 15,000 affordable housing supports annually through the starter homes programme and related initiatives. The help to buy scheme and the first home scheme continue to bridge the gap for first-time buyers struggling with deposits and mortgage limits. These schemes are not abstract policy instruments; they are enabling thousands of households to purchase their first home. The rental market must also function effectively. We are introducing national rent controls and reforming the rent pressure zone system to balance tenant protection with the need to maintain investment in new rental supply. We are strengthening tenant protections in legislation, enhancing the powers of the Residential Tenancies Board, publishing a rent price register and increasing regulation of the short-term letting sector. A stable and predictable rental framework is essential. Without it, supply will contract further and renters will suffer the consequences. Progress is being made. Completions are rising. Social and affordable output is at record levels. Planning reforms are accelerating. Infrastructure investment is being aligned with housing growth. However, we are honest about the scale of the task. There is no single measure. There is no simple ban that will solve the challenges we face. The Government's approach is clear: increase supply at scale, protect and prioritise home ownership, deliver record levels of social and affordable housing, prevent the inappropriate bulk purchasing of family homes, strengthen tenant protections; and mobilise both public and private investment to build the homes our growing population requires. Delivering Homes, Building Communities is a funded, actionable plan. It recognises that solving the housing crisis demands persistence, partnership and pragmatism. We will continue to act where measures need to be strengthened and we will continue to drive delivery, because the only sustainable answer to the challenges we face is more homes. That is what the new housing plan will deliver.

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