Paul Hosford: Skewed playing field between regular homebuyers and cash-rich funds

The public outcry over the purchase of 135 of the 170 houses in a Maynooth development by an institutional investor has forced the Government to promise action, but any changes to legislation will not be felt for years

Mullen Park estate in Maynooth, Co Kildare. The 170-home estate has controversially had 135 homes bought by Round Hill Capital, a global property investment firm which will be putting the houses on the rental market, making them unavailable to first-time buyers in Ireland. Picture: Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie

The Government is being forced to examine its own laws on housing in a week when it was supposed to take a major step forward in its housing plans.

The announcement that the Government will examine how to level the playing field between huge institutional investors and regular people comes just 24 hours after the Affordable Housing Bill was signed off by Cabinet.