New legislation was brought in following a political furore caused by a Business Post story about the planned sale of 115 new homes to an investment firm

A number of houses in the Kildare estate came on the market last week, nearly a year after the outcry over a €1 billion global investment fund’s plans to bulk-buy 155 of its properties

A plan to sell 115 houses to a global investment fund has been called off

As the sense grows that the national housing crisis has reached a tipping point, many are unconvinced that the government’s latest measures will do much to solve the many problems

The Minister for Housing and his officials are working on changes to the planning regulations that could ringfence more than 50 per cent of the units in new developments for private buyers, but there are many obstacles to be negotiated

As would-be buyers are shut out and the political row over the bulk purchase of starter homes in Maynooth by a billion-dollar investment fund rolls on, the government is scrambling to ensure that it does not happen again

Leo Varadkar says further changes to legislation may be required to prevent real estate investment trusts edging out first-time buyers