FF vulture fund bill ‘too little’

A leading homelessness charity has welcomed Fianna Fáil’s new bill that aims to ensure household loans can’t be sold to unregulated vulture funds, saying they “could be doing and could have done a lot more”.

Founder of Focus Ireland, Sr Stan Kennedy, criticised the party’s abstention in December 2016 when the Government voted down the Focus Ireland anti-homeless amendment. This called for the end of evictions of tenants in buy-to-let properties that were being sold or repossessed.

“Had this amendment had been passed in December 2016 it would have prevented at least 250 families and over 500 children from becoming homeless in 2017 alone,” Sr Stan said.

Inspection

Fianna Fáil reached agreement with the Government on its private bill so that the Central Bank can oversee and inspect any vulture fund taking over domestic mortgages.

The issue became more urgent in March when Permanent TSB put up 18,000 mortgages for sale, they later pulled 4,300 homes linked to performing split mortgages from the loan sale.

Sr Stan said: “The Government’s logic for refusing to bring in the Focus Ireland Amendment is that it must balance tenants’ rights with property rights.

“We strongly believe this holds no water as how can it be balancing rights when a family or individual paying their rent every week – with a tenancy – can be forced out on the street if the property is being sold or repossessed? It is not ‘balancing rights’ it is clearly putting property rights ahead of the rights of tenants.”