Richard Boyd Barrett: Government Serving Vulture Funds, Not Renters
Richard Boyd Barrett criticised the government for failing to address the housing crisis, accusing ministers of prioritising corporate landlords, vulture funds and property investors over ordinary renters, families and people on waiting lists. He condemned the minister's absence from two housing debates and the government's refusal to discuss the Housing Commission report for nine months.
He accused the government of not wanting to solve the housing crisis, arguing that ministers care more about protecting the profits of corporate landlords, vulture funds and property investors than about people in emergency accommodation or those on decade-long housing lists.
He criticised the minister for failing to attend two housing debates and said the government refused to discuss the Housing Commission report for nine months, calling the report a damning indictment of government housing policy.
He pointed to local developments as evidence: a co-living development in Ablan Avenue in Dun Laoghaire being advertised on booking.com for about €1,000 a week for tourists, and the St Helens Court apartment block across from his office that has been largely empty for seven or eight years after tenants were evicted. He said vulture funds are sitting on assets to ramp up value and flip them.
He contrasted asking prices he cited — houses sold on what used to be NAMA land for about €600,000 — with an affordable level he suggested would be around €200,000, arguing that property investors have no interest in making housing affordable because it would reduce their profits.
He concluded by saying a revolution is needed on the issue of housing, accusing the government of representing investors rather than ordinary people, and closing his remarks with a direct rebuke to those in power and a mention of Deputy Coppinger.
Main accusation
He accused the government of not wanting to solve the housing crisis, arguing that ministers care more about protecting the profits of corporate landlords, vulture funds and property investors than about people in emergency accommodation or those on decade-long housing lists.
Ministerial absence and the Housing Commission report
He criticised the minister for failing to attend two housing debates and said the government refused to discuss the Housing Commission report for nine months, calling the report a damning indictment of government housing policy.
Local examples cited
He pointed to local developments as evidence: a co-living development in Ablan Avenue in Dun Laoghaire being advertised on booking.com for about €1,000 a week for tourists, and the St Helens Court apartment block across from his office that has been largely empty for seven or eight years after tenants were evicted. He said vulture funds are sitting on assets to ramp up value and flip them.
Affordability and profit incentives
He contrasted asking prices he cited — houses sold on what used to be NAMA land for about €600,000 — with an affordable level he suggested would be around €200,000, arguing that property investors have no interest in making housing affordable because it would reduce their profits.
Call for change
He concluded by saying a revolution is needed on the issue of housing, accusing the government of representing investors rather than ordinary people, and closing his remarks with a direct rebuke to those in power and a mention of Deputy Coppinger.
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Transcript
The minister doesn't bother his backside to turn up for two housing debates in a row and the government refuses to discuss for nine months the Housing Commission report which provided a damning indictment of the failures of government housing policy. Why? Because you don't want to solve the housing crisis. You don't care. You don't care about the people who are a decade or more on housing lists or families and children in emergency accommodation. People who are quaking with fear because they are threatened with eviction. You don't care about them. The people you care about are the corporate landlords, the vulture funds and the property investors. You are dancing to their tune and they do not want to solve the housing crisis because they make money from the housing crisis and the sooner the people in this country who do care about it and who are affected by it realise that that is why we've had more than a decade of housing crisis and before that a property crash with the emphasis on property that has dominated this country because the rich in Ireland and now their friends, international investors, make money from it. Why on earth would a corporate landlord who can charge €2,500 a month want to see rental property which is charged at an affordable level for the average worker of €1,000 a month? It is self-evident they wouldn't want that to happen. They couldn't make profits if they did. Why would a property investor who is selling houses in my area and what used to be NAMA land for €600,000 want to sell them for €200,000 which would be affordable for an ordinary worker? They have no interest in that happening. In fact they have an interest in making sure that it doesn't happen and that is the problem. It's summed up for me by a number of developments in my area. Niche co-living in Ablan Avenue in Dun Laoghaire where we campaign for social and affordable housing. We got a co-living development. It's now being advertised on booking.com for I think it's about €1,000 a week for tourists. Or the St Helens Court apartment block across from my office where most of it has been empty for seven or eight years. They've evicted all the tenants and it's owned by Vulture Funds. And they sit on it waiting to evict the tenants, ramp up the value of the asset and then flip it on. That's who you're representing. You're not representing ordinary people and we need a revolution in this country on the issue of housing because you lot don't care. Deputy Coppinger.