Ireland’s housing crisis and the stuck at home generation

Move out of your parents’ house and rent your own apartment? Many younger people in Ireland cannot afford this, even if they work. Ireland is doing well economically.

Sadhbh Green stands in the kitchen of his parents’ house and makes himself some tea. The 24-year-old says she feels comfortable here, but it’s actually long time to move out. But that doesn’t work. According to Green’s own assessment, he earns well as an employee in a management position in the catering industry, but it’s not enough to have his own home.

Property prices in Ireland are going through the roof. That’s “disappointing,” says Green: “You work so much, and after work you don’t even have your own four walls.”

Her two older brothers also still live at home. An entire generation feels abandoned. “My generation doesn’t know what’s to come,” says Green, “I’ve lost so many of my friends, to Canada, to Australia, Barcelona, ​​London. They’re all gone.”

And whoever isn’t away still lives at home. A survey has just shown that two thirds of all 20 to 29 year olds still live with their parents. In 2012 it was a third. It’s the “stuck at home” generation.

Little money for housing construction

Rory Hearne looks at the reasons. He is an associate professor of social policy. He criticizes the government for not putting enough public money into housing, especially affordable housing.

Hearne emphasizes that the Irish economy is generating a budget surplus: “The country is actually doing well. Ireland has attracted many multinational corporations with low tax rates.”

For far too long, the conservative government has clung to the dream that everyone can afford a home. Your own house or apartment was part of your retirement provision. The home ownership rate among older people is significantly higher than in Germany, for example.

Deceptive hope for the private sector

But younger people are less and less able to afford this because prices have risen so much. This is also due to the idea that the state is unlikely to be able to solve such problems.

The government relied primarily on private investors to build construction projects and then rent them out. The idea was that the market would help solve the problem, explains Hearne.

But there are usually expensive apartments on the market that firefighters, nurses and police officers can hardly afford. Hearne now wants to go into politics. He is running for the Social Democrats in the European elections.

The voters are turning away

The Prime Minister of the Fine Gael party has just had to resign – for personal but also political reasons. The liberal-conservative party’s poll numbers continued to fall. The new Prime Minister Simon Harris now only has a few months to turn things around. There will probably be an election this year.

Sinn Fein is ahead in the opinion polls. The party, which advocates the unification of the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland, relies on strong social policies and is mainly elected by younger Irish people.

As soon as he took office, Prime Minister Harris promised to build 250,000 homes by 2030. Many people don’t believe him because Fine Gael has been in power since 2011.

Many apartments are empty

There are other reasons for the high prices – one is the vacancy rate: Some owners speculate with their properties. There are no official records showing how many houses are affected. Hearne estimates there are 12,000 vacant properties in Dublin and 166,000 nationwide.

Parties like Sinn Fein are demanding that owners who leave properties vacant should be forced to invest or rent out quickly with a levy or tax.

Few rights for tenants

The lack of rights for tenants is also exacerbating the housing crisis. Madeleine Johannson lived in Dublin for many years, but now she has to leave the apartment because the owner wants to sell. Tenant protection: none.

Johannson says that when she was looking, she saw apartments that cost “around 1,800 euros per month.” But that is her entire salary. “It’s usury,” complains Johannson. She fears that those who earn little will no longer be able to live in Dublin.

Prices are particularly high in the capital, but the entire country is affected. It’s an absurd situation: unemployment in Ireland is low, the economy is thriving, but prosperity is bypassing a large part of society.