Tipperary TD calls to ban investment funds from buying bulk purchases of homes in Ireland

The Dáil this week heard a call for the banning on institutional investors in the housing market as Seamus Healy, Independent TD for Tipperary South, brought forward a motion seeking to ban investment funds from purchasing family homes.

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“Homeownership is very dear to the hearts of Irish people. It should be a reasonable hope of any family, but homeownership has nose-dived and is sadly now a dream rather than a reality,” the deputy said.

Since 2020, property prices have surged by more than 47 per cent, locking many families out of the market and plunging those who do buy into heavy debt.

Meanwhile, middle and lower income households are increasingly confined to private rental accommodation, facing rents that can reach €2,500 a month. “Families cannot save. In fact, families are living week to week,” he added, highlighting the financial strain on ordinary households.

Seamus Healy argued that institutional investors exacerbate the crisis. Between May 2021 and the end of 2025, investment funds purchased 2,000 family homes, paying the higher rate of stamp duty.

Yet funds can buy up to nine homes at a time without triggering this charge, a practice he said inflates prices further and deprives ordinary families of the opportunity to buy.

“This is the tip of the iceberg. It is no wonder that teachers, gardaí, nurses and many middle-range public servants cannot buy a house,” he told the Dáil. “Many are condemned to long-term renting at unaffordable rip-off rents, or must stay in the box room of the family home.”

The strain is reflected in reports from the media and professional organisations. A Sunday Independent feature found that even dual-income couples struggle to buy a home and remain ineligible for local authority housing.

Similarly, a teacher from County Wicklow told InTouch, the Irish National Teachers Organisation’s monthly magazine:

“I am a qualified Irish teacher in my early 30s. Despite holding an AP2 post, home ownership is still out of reach. On a post-2011 pay scale, my salary cannot meet today's housing reality.

The average house in Wicklow now costs close to €400,000 - far beyond what one income can support. Even with a partner earning the same, buying is still not feasible.”

Seamus Healy warned that the housing crisis is prompting Ireland’s brightest and best to seek work abroad in cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, Boston, London, and even in the Middle East. “This housing emergency is undermining the very fabric of Irish society. The social contract between the State and the public has collapsed,” he said.

He concluded that preventing investment funds from acquiring family homes would be a small but meaningful step towards restoring balance in the housing market.

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