Danny Healy-Rae: Says Stamp Duty Cut Favors Investors Over Locals
Danny Healy-Rae criticised an amendment that reduces stamp duty for certain buyers, arguing it advantages bulk purchasers and foreign investors and harms young local buyers. He said the measure is incompatible with the bill and called for either a universal stamp-duty cut or investment in local authority housebuilding.
Main objection
He described the amendment as being wrongly combined with the bill, likening it to "putting the fox in with the hens." He told the minister the change is not compatible with the legislation and repeated that it is unfair to include the measure in this bill.
Impact on young buyers
He warned the proposal helps entities that buy houses in bulk, outbidding young couples and people trying to get a roof over their heads. He argued the move would give those buyers an advantage as materials costs rise and local young people are priced out of the market.
Alternatives proposed
He said if stamp duty is to be cut it should be cut for everyone to create a level playing field. He urged a return to basic measures such as buying sites around towns and villages and giving funding to local authorities to build houses rather than favouring large buyers or investors.
Policy fairness and wider criticism
He stressed he has nothing against developers or making money, but insisted policy must be fair. He criticised provisions that, in his view, allow some buyers to "blow young people out of the property market" and deny them the right to housing, and referenced disagreement with Boyd Barrett over related points.
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The first amendment you had, there was a lot of merit in it, and there's a lot of good things in it, but lumping this in with that bill, it's like, you know, it's like to me putting the fox in with the hens, like, it's not, it's not compatible at all, like, and it's not fair, I mean, a few weeks ago we had a bill here decrying these entities buying out houses bulk steel, gates, bulk buying, and outbidding young couples and young people that want to put a roof over their heads, and, like, this is giving those same entities an advantage again, by reducing the stamp duty for them. If we want to reduce the stamp duty, fine, but reduce it for everyone and have a level playing pitch, this is not fair at all, Minister, and, you know, I go back to the, and, and my son, and, and, and, and, and, and, and the only way, if you want to, to, to create housing, or to provide housing for people, and there is a housing issue out there, go back to the basic things like buying sites around towns or villages, and, and giving funding to the local authorities, to, to build houses, and, and, and forget about this thing of, I have nothing against developers, and I have nothing against anyone, and I, I do disagree with Boyd Barrett and that, there is nothing wrong with making money, but make it fair, fair, and, and not to give, not to give, not to give an advantage to, to, to, to maybe foreign investors, in this case, outbidding local young fellas that want to put a roof over their heads, because, because, because, because, because, because the cost of materials is going up and they can't provide houses for themselves, but this is an unfair advantage being given, being given to these people, again, by reducing the stamp duty, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, although there's some of these people, they, and, and, and the, and the, question, the stamp duty doesn't matter then, because they're after a veil of it, and they're after blowing young people out of, uh, the property market, and denying them the right to put a roof over their heads, it's very unfairness.
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