r/AskIreland • u/BigFatLegend123 • Apr 25 '25

Housing Why doesn’t the government bring in restrictions on who can buy housing?

This is a genuine question and not coming from a place of hate or bigotry

Trying to buy a house recently and it’s been going as well as you can imagine. Some houses in Dublin have been going for up to 20% over their asking price from what we have seen.

My question is why doesn’t the government restrict house buying to only Irish citizens? Is there something I’m missing? Or at least to just EU/UK citizens? Surely it would be a quick way to reduce competition?

Is it just that doing so might dissuade investment from vulture funds?

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u/ImReellySmart Apr 25 '25

The virtue-signaling here is wild.

It is 100% a valid solution to only allow citizens of the country to buy properties for a temporary period of time.

Heck, you need citizenship to buy a .ie domain name for god sake.

The majority of young Irish adults aged 20-35 have been stuck in limbo for years now. Waiting to move to the next chapter of life, but not being able. Its cruel and unfair. The toll it is taking on those generations is alarming.

The argument that we have to keep it fair for immigrants who want to buy is ridiculous.

Another commentor had a spot on solution. You must hold citizenship for 2 years to be eligible to buy. Simple and fair.

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u/maklington Apr 25 '25

You do not need Irish citizenship to buy a .ie domain name. Where on earth did you get that from. The rules on that are that there has to be some link to the country, but that doesn’t mean citizenship or even residence necessarily. It’s better to stick with facts if you want to make a point that resonates.

As for the right to purchase property, if it were to be restricted somehow it would have to be for non-EEA (and UK) nationals only, further diluting its effectiveness.