Taoiseach Micheal Martin defends cuckoo funds buying up rental properties

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Micheal Martin has defended cuckoo funds and international investors buying up rental properties, insisting they still have a role to play in solving the housing crisis.

The Taoiseach said the “overwhelming majority” of the heavy lifting in providing housing will be done by the State.

But Mr Martin also admitted that foreign investors – that have been swallowing up vast swathes of rental properties in recent years – still have a role to play.

He said: “Private investment is important in terms of housing overall.”

The Government is struggling to tackle the housing crisis, with scarce supply and spiralling prices and record rents leaving people of all ages locked out of the market.

The Taoiseach was speaking about housing in the annual roundtable interview with reporters just before Christmas.

Mr Martin said: “Well, first of all, the bulk, overwhelming majority of money and funding is State funding going into housing, €4billion annually on the Housing for All strategy.

“To give an example, of 11,900 social housing next year, 9,000 will be directed either by local authorities or approved housing bodies, and of the remainder, some will be acquired, and some will be private investment, or through whatever mechanisms we have.”

Mr Martin said that many of the critics of the Government’s housing policy don’t see the complexities involved.

He added: “I think there has been an overly simplistic narrative around the housing story.

“One would imagine that the only thing that was going on was leasing or institutional investment, there’s a lot, lot more going on in our housing market.

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“The primary driver at the moment is the State, in terms of social housing, and in terms of now in 2022 we’re going to see the delivery of cost rental and affordable housing.”

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