Ireland is hosting a dedicated pavilion at one of the world's most significant property conferences this week, on the French Riviera, as part of an effort to attract billions of euro in foreign investment into our housing system.
An Irish marquee at the MIPIM (Marché International des Professionnels de l'Immobilier) conference is operating for the first time. MIPIM is sometimes referred to as the Davos of real estate, and some 20,000 delegates are expected to attend this year.
Minister for Housing James Browne and Graham Doyle, the Department of Housing's Secretary General, will address delegates, along with representatives from the Irish Strategic Investment Fund, the Housing Agency, the Land Development Agency, the Department of Finance, and representatives from local authorities in Dublin and Cork.
Speaking at the preliminary day of the conference yesterday, Minister Browne said that strong fundamentals for the Irish economy "gives us confidence that there is a bright future for delivery of housing."
"Ireland is in this for the long term," he told the conference, adding "we want to work in partnership with private capital opportunities to deliver on this mission".
The Government wants to build 300,000 new homes by 2030. Some €20 billion is required annually to fund the housing targets, it says.
The approach taken has been criticised by opposition parties. This morning the Social Democrats spokesperson on housing, Rory Hearne, said the minister is "using the conference to send out the message to international investor funds and institutional landlords that Ireland offers an opportunity to set rents at whatever level they want – and then reset them to market rates every six years."
In a statement, he added "yet again, it shows that this government's only solution to the housing crisis is to continue bringing in vulture funds to buy up Irish homes and turn them into financial assets."
The seniority of the public servants represented at the Irish marquee is a show of intent, Brendan Slattery, Partner at McCann Fitzgerald suggested. Mr Slattery is due to speak on a panel in the Irish pavilion on Thursday.
"The Government is sending a strong delegation to Cannes with a convincing message about why it makes sense to invest in Ireland," he told RTÉ's Prime Time.
Private sector sponsorship of the pavilion has drawn other criticism. Lead sponsors include Cairn, Glenveagh, and Evara - three of the largest residential developers in the State - as well as property investment fund Ardstone, Bank of Ireland and AIB.
Speaking in the Dáil last week, Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane described the plan for the conference as "very cosy", suggesting that firms that benefit from the Government's "rent-hike bill" were paying the costs of the event.
He was referring to the new Residential Tenancies Act, which was signed into law in recent weeks. Opposition TDs argue that the legislation unfairly targets renters, saying rents will skyrocket in the short-term.
The Government says reforms introduced under the Act will strengthen tenants’ rights with security of tenure, while driving investment in the housing system.
In a statement on the sponsorship of the pavilion, the Department of Housing said that "having reviewed how other countries and cities fund their attendance at MIPIM, and in line with that, private sector sponsors are funding the event costs of Ireland at MIPIM 2026."
"These organisations have a shared interest in MIPIM and in increasing the pool of private investment which is available for funding new residential and complementary development in Ireland."
Major cities like Paris, Berlin and Barcelona have long-standing pavilions at MIPIM.
Costs relating to public servant travel and accommodation are being borne by the Department, it said.
Banking institutions, developers such as Ballymore and Glenveagh, and real estate firms like IPUT, IRES-Reit and Kennedy Wilson also feature on the programme of events being hosted at the Irish marquee.
"We're in competition with everyone," David Martin, partner at EY Capital and Debt Advisory said about the Irish presence at MIPIM.
"The investment houses of London or Germany are seeing opportunities right across the globe."
