At the weekend, the Taoiseach stated that housing is the number one crisis facing young people. This morning, a report published by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, has highlighted again the crushing cost of housing, including extortionate rents, which far exceed their pre-crash heights, as well as a collapse in homeownership amongst this generation of young adults.

It is not lost on these young people, their parents or their grandparents that the housing crisis was created by Fianna Fáil, which left the housing market in hock to developers and deepened by Fine Gael, which could not wait to let the vulture funds loose. The result of all of this is that those looking to put a secure and affordable roof over their heads do not stand a chance.

At a time when the Government should be moving heaven and earth to do everything possible to make housing affordable again, what is the Government doing? It is still enabling and encouraging wealthy investment funds to buy up family homes with cushy tax deals. The Government claims that this is a new phenomenon or an unintended consequence but that is not true. In 2019, six out of ten new homes in Dublin were taken off the market and the vast majority were sold to the investment funds. In the past four weeks, 400 houses have been snapped up by these funds.

Moreover, they are not stopping with Dublin; their plan is now to spread their wings across the State. These investment funds are now moving to Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway, with leading developers saying that they will be selling more than 40% of their new homes to these funds in the years ahead. It is a very daunting prospect for young people who scrimp and save and make enormous sacrifices to put themselves in the position, if they are lucky, to have a deposit to buy a home. Yet, these investment funds not only rob people of the chance to buy their own homes but also push up house prices, in some cases by as much as €80,000.

All of this happens against the backdrop of the publication of the utterly discredited Affordable Housing Bill 2021 by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the provision of an affordable housing plan that can make houses even more expensive. Even by the Government's standards, that is some achievement. Is it any wonder then, that the mood of a generation is one of exasperation? The Government's sweetheart tax arrangements allow these investors to lock people out of homeownership and force them into the private rental market, where these same funds then charge extortionate levels of rent. Heads, they win; tails, they win; it is a win-win for the investment funds.

There are things the Government could do right now to make housing more affordable. It could double the State's capital investment in affordable and social housing. We in Sinn Féin have called for that action to be taken and the ESRI has echoed that call. The Government could cut the legs from the vulture funds by doing that. It could cut rents and put a month's rent back into the pocket of every renter through a tax refund.

It could legislate to prevent any further rent increases. Above all, what it could do is legislate to end the sweetheart tax deals and remove the financial incentive and advantage accruing to these investment funds. However, it has done none of those things. The Cabinet met today. People are waiting to hear from the Government. What are its plans to stop these vulture funds?

First, I have to say that the Government is ten months in office. During those ten months, we have been dealing with an unprecedented global pandemic which has had a huge impact on the people and, indeed, on sectors of our economy. It has also had an impact on the construction industry. Notwithstanding that, the Government has committed to, and provided the funding for, the largest multi-annual social housing programme in the history of the State. That is the core of the Government's policy programme. A total of €3.3 billion is allocated this year to new house construction. We want to build 9,500 new social homes. The State and Government are also getting involved in building, and supporting the building of, affordable homes through a variety of schemes. The Government has initiated the first national cost-rental scheme, which will provide houses at rents 25% below the market price.

I have said, and I have made it clear to my Government colleagues - along with the leaders of the other parties in government - that we are committed to ensuring that housing is our number one, collective responsibility as we emerge from Covid-19 in order to give young people an opportunity for home ownership. That is something I am passionately committed to and that we provide enough social housing for those who need it. In addition to the allocation and funding we are putting in for housing, we are making sure that unprecedented amounts of funding are going to infrastructure to make sure the houses can happen, in terms of the allocation of money to Irish Water to make sure we can get water services in place for these housing developments, and also wider infrastructural developments such as the docklands in Cork or the development in Galway and Limerick that will facilitate more residential units being built and more housing being built.

That is the story of this Government's programme for housing and no amount of distortion will change those facts. We remain committed to that but we have to do more. Development finance for builders is problematic in this country. It has been problematic for quite a number of years in terms of the cost of funding for builders to get going and build housing estates. We need builders to build large housing estates and also to build smaller housing estates and smaller housing units. The fundamental issue at stake in housing is supply, supply, supply. That is it. That is why there is an onus and responsibility on all politicians of all parties to do everything we possibly can to support the supply of housing. That is why Deputy McDonald's party also has questions to answer in terms of the serial objections to quite substantial housing programmes and projects that have been voted down on too many occasions, whether it be in Tallaght, where her party voted down 500 houses that could have been built, or in Clondalkin, where 800 to 900 houses, again, were opposed. That cannot go on. Maybe it is in the Deputy's interest to frustrate the attempts to get housing built or to impede progress. The biggest actor in housing right now, the biggest player, is this Government, through a whole range of vehicles and schemes.

In respect of the investment funds that came into the country more than eight or nine years ago, we are very clear that we are opposed to investment funds taking over or buying estates that have already been built. The original purpose and objective of them was to add to supply, not to take over existing supply and compete with first-time buyers or, indeed, approved housing bodies or councils for that matter. Our priority remains the first-time buyer. We want home ownership to increase.

The Taoiseach's time is up.

Sinn Féin has opposed every single measure that this Government has taken to provide affordable housing to people and it did likewise in previous years.

The welcome mat was laid out for these investment funds long before Covid-19 was ever heard of. The Taoiseach should not try to hide behind the pandemic as an excuse for his evident failures. The evidence of the Government's failures are everywhere to be seen. The Taoiseach recognises that we are in a crisis and it is about supply. Supply needs to be met by building public housing on public lands. The day and time of the developer, the vulture fund and the private investment fund being king must end. That is a journey the Taoiseach has yet to walk.

I have asked the Taoiseach what he intends to do now about these investment funds. These funds are, as we speak, snapping up family homes under the noses of first-time buyers and other buyers seeking a secure, affordable roof over their heads. They are driving up the cost of housing by as much as €80,000 in some instances. I have asked the Taoiseach a direct question, which I will put again. The Government has sweetheart tax arrangements with these investment funds in respect of corporation tax, capital gains tax and stamp duty. When will that end? Where is the Government's plan to rein in these funds? When will we see it?

The Government has this year committed to 12,750 new social homes, 9,500 of which will be direct builds. That is a commitment that the Deputy continues to ignore. That is at maximum and it was before the three months of Covid-19 restrictions on the construction industry came in. That is the point.

I note the Deputy's reply. Is she saying that private builders have no role at all?

I did not say that.

The Deputy seemed to be saying that. I have no idea what her view is of private house building.

What is the Taoiseach doing about investment funds?

I do not know whether the Deputy thinks small builders should be facilitated to build homes.

What is the Taoiseach doing about investment funds?

Allow the Taoiseach without interruption.

Sinn Féin seems to be objecting to housing project after housing project for a variety of reasons, perhaps just to mess up the whole thing and prevent success. In terms of the investment funds-----

Let me assure the Taoiseach, the Government is messing it up without any assistance from me.

The Taoiseach without interruption, please.

-----the Ministers for Finance and Housing, Local Government and Heritage are going to deal with the issue and will be bringing proposals to the Government in respect of the situation.

When?

We do not want investment funds competing with first-time buyers and certainly not buying up housing estates. We oppose that.

He does not oppose that; he enables it.

As I have said, in previous eras the banks provided finance to the construction industry. The Government is now providing the bulk of housing activity through its funding mechanisms, be they direct build, affordable housing schemes, cost rental or other mechanisms such as the housing assistance payment, HAP, and so on. That is the reality of the situation.