Mary Lou McDonald has described a proposed Government tax exemption for cuckoo funds set to pass through the Dáil as “scandalous” and “absolutely mind-boggling.”
The Sinn Féin leader was taking on the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, in the Dáil over the issue ahead of a late night vote that the coalition parties are set to win convincingly.
Ms McDonald went further in her attack and said it was “an absolutely disgraceful waste of taxpayers’ money” to be granting tax write-offs to institutional investors.
The Taoiseach hit back, saying that Sinn Féin was only about “sloganeering” and brought no “solutions” or “substance” to the table.
The vote tonight is on an amendment to a Covid special powers bill, which proposes to exempt vultures and cuckoos from a new 10% stamp duty charge on bulk purchases of 10 or more last month.
But Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, is already bringing in a change to the new system which will allow the big investors to bypass the tax if they are leasing the houses back to the State.
This would also mean that the Government, through local authorities, would effectively pay back the vultures and cuckoos the full cost of the purchase of the houses over the lifetime of a 25 year lease and not own the homes at the end of it.
Ms McDonald got animated in the Dáil when she raised the issue.
She said: “It is scandalous that these tax breaks still remain in place, but the decision to grant another tax break to allow and encourage these same funds to buy up homes and then lease them back to local councils, costing well above what it would cost the State to build homes, is mind-boggling.
“It shows complete contempt for our citizens who cannot put a roof over their heads.
“It is also an absolute and disgraceful waste of taxpayers' money.
“The Taoiseach approves of speculators and developers filling their boots while ordinary workers and families are left to one side.”
Mr Martin responded: “It is opposing to win votes locally and to court popularity.
“That is the same old Sinn Féin I have been watching for the last two years.
“It ruthlessly exploits the housing problem for electoral advancement and is pretty poor at coming up with substance or solutions to the housing problem.”
Mr O’Brien defended his amendment too.
He was speaking at the launch of a new cost rental development in Balbriggan, North Dublin.
He said: “There is a reality that about 2,500 families are due to be housed through the provision of these leases.
“So, if anybody is telling me now that we shouldn’t make an exception for them so that those families are housed in the short-term, I would like them to put the argument to me.
“It is a small exemption that will be time-bound, and that will be brought forward by Minister Paschal Donohoe as well.”
