Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
THE GENERAL ELECTION is coming up tomorrow, and despite all the media attention surrounding Sinn Féin’s internal troubles, Simon Harris’ tetchy interaction with a care worker, and Fine Gael supporters laughing at teachers, housing is the most pressing issue for me and many others.
I am a 29-year-old renter living and working in Dublin. This makes me a millennial, and also an unwilling participant in what is dubbed “Generation Rent” in the most expensive city in Europe for renters.
In many ways, I am a stereotypical Irish person in their late 20s – I have lived in a total of 16 share houses since I left home for college in Galway at the age of 18, I did a two-year stint in Australia and later, I moved to Dublin for work. My first ever share house was in Galway city centre, the rent was €400 a month (that was considered pricey at the time) and it was a flat attached to a nice family’s home which I shared with a Spanish Erasmus student.
We didn’t have a washing machine (I washed my clothes in the bath), but 19-year-old me didn’t care; I was studying something I was passionate about and felt that I was finally experiencing independence and a sense of adulthood that secondary school does not facilitate.
If you had asked 19-year-old me what I was most worried about for the future, I would have said getting a job. But now, a decade later and despite our best attempts to tread the same path of financial security as our parents, myself and my working peers are at the mercy of a generation-defining housing emergency.
Paying for the mistakes of others
Back in 2014, the housing crisis was burgeoning. The main groups drawing attention to it were homeless charities and student’s unions, the people they represent being particularly vulnerable to a disaster that has become all-consuming over the last decade, affecting almost every person in Ireland either directly or indirectly. Even the government and then Taoiseach Enda Kenny began to acknowledge it, promising that the Government would deal with it. Déjà vu? Yeah, me too.
As my generation levelled up through college, Master’s degrees, further education, graduate programmes and work experience, so too did the housing crisis. Every year, rooms were scarcer, the competition grew more intense and prices ballooned; and every year, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil promised us that the tide was turning, that progress was being made and that we were almost out of the woods.
But as we approach the end of 2024 and the upcoming election, the government’s promises to turn the ship around haven’t materialised, and my generation faces a housing crisis that becomes more dystopian by the day.
Advertisement
A mouldy, cramped one-bed apartment in Ireland’s cities now costs roughly €2,000 per month to rent, and it is quite common to see prices of €2,500 or more. Increasingly ludicrous property advertisements on websites taunt young adults looking to get an honest shot, and these often go viral on social media.
Every young person in Ireland has seen rental adverts from hell: a shed in a back garden in Dublin that was €3,500 a month, that time a landlord put a single bed on their landing and set the price at €1,800, and a landlord who was charging €1,900 for a single room that the tenant could only occupy Monday-Thursday, and wasn’t allowed to use the kitchen in.
With traditional avenues of finding accommodation like estate agencies and Daft.ie adverts overwhelmed by tenancy applications, and finding success there akin to winning the lottery, 30-somethings and under rely on their personal social media accounts for help. (“Hi guys, looking for a room in Dublin, I’m desperate”) or sharing their friend’s posts, (“Please share to help my lovely friend find a room”). And all the while, the dank rental rooms of Ireland surge well beyond €800 per month, young people are left wondering: “What the hell am I doing here?”
Worrying about housing
I fear that my generation spends far, far more time thinking, talking and worrying about housing than our government does. It is a topic that pervades pretty much all of our lives – our friends emigrate in droves, move back to the childhood bedroom, or, more rarely, escape the rat race because of the generosity of the bank of Mam and Dad.
Friend groups are unable to socialise, relationships are put on hold or break down, mental health suffers, housing protests are ignored, more subsidies are given to landlords, investment funds buy more housing stock, and the government blames anyone but themselves.
As a bit of research for this piece, I did a rough Instagram poll of my (not many, but all real) followers to get a sense of what my peers are feeling about this government in regard to housing. The answers were anticipated and yet somehow more bleak than I expected. Over 55% of people who emigrated said they did so because of housing, and over 80% responded that they were reluctant to come back because of it.
As for my friends living here, 93% of them said they seriously intend to vote, and a massive 92% said housing was their number one voting issue for this election. Their responses were varied and also touched on a range of other issues like climate collapse and environmental policy, a decrease in hospitality VAT, nightlife, cost of living, mental health funding, transportation of weaponry through Irish airspace and Gardaí that are better equipped to deal with anti-social behaviour.
One respondent said:
This government has no interest in tackling any of the major issues affecting the majority of people – housing, social issues, climate breakdown and biodiversity crisis, foreign affairs etc. They seem exclusively interested in doing things which on paper appear to make the economy look strong and line the pockets of the wealthy – which includes them. They do not want to know, or care about the issues affecting working-class people, who they seem to blame for any of the situations or conditions they are facing.
Another respondent, who recently emigrated, noted:
Housing I would put second [after the climate crisis in terms of voting] and is somehow at the root of nearly every problem in Ireland, but I would not give my first preference to a party who says they will build the most houses as soon as possible but don’t have an emphasis on environmental and infrastructure issues too.
Related Reads
Sinn Féin promises mini-budget, property tax abolition and reducing president's term to 5 years
As it happened: Ten-way TV debate turns into Harris & Martin versus McDonald
Martin disagrees with O'Dea's comments that McEntee is the 'worst justice minister' in Ireland's history
Another friend in Galway is having to house hunt for the first time in three years:
Everything is around €700-€800. I saw an advert for a single bedroom in Salthill – €900 a month. Things have gotten 10 times as crazy [as they were three years ago].
Government parties will point to metrics like full employment and high tax receipts as proof of a booming economy, but that is little consolation to the 522,486 adults aged 18 years and over who are living with their parents, the ones who emigrated, or to renters, like me, whose entire adult lives have been shaped by a housing crisis that has no limits.
Those with their hands on the levers of power in this country, all well paid, are insulated from the real-world consequences of their actions, or lack thereof. Who among them knows someone who is homeless, trapped in a vicious rental cycle, or living in a box room?
So, I write a message to the government before the election this week. Any TD, minister or campaigning politician who insists that the situation is getting better is welcome to do a house swap with me for a while to see how we young adults really live.
You can move into my single room and we can swap salaries as well! It would be a bit of a step down from what you’re used to, but I’m sure you’ll manage. It’ll be an experiment we can call youth voter engagement. After all, you guys will have this housing crisis sorted soon – right?
Sylvia Power is a 29-year-old editor who lives and works in Dublin.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
116 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
I may be wrong, but it appears that the Irish government has double standards. It is OK if illegal/undocumented immigrants are Irish, but not OK if they aren’t Irish.
They weren’t forced to live in public toilets, they choose to. They were housed by the charity groups in Ennis but had to leave because of behavour caused by the alcohol. They were also given a home in Galway city recently but left it and returned to Ennis and started living rough again after only a week. You shouldnt use these poor unfortunates to make a incorrect point.
Thanks Pat for your comment. However, I would like to add that the unfortunate Czech National was not an illegal immigrant. The Czech Republic entered the EU in 2004 so the poor gentleman had more rights than an illegal immigrant. Furthermore, the late Mr. Pavelka gave his family the impression that he was doing well here in Ireland.
In this case, the late Mr. Pavelka made the choice to live rough and ignore support from the state.
Exactly they are illegal aliens. If they regularised it will be for economic reasons. I have a family member over there illegally but it is a sub life that illegal people choose.
Lemass was offered buy declined an open visa programme in the 1960s bizarrely,
Not quite. Ireland had a yearly quota of 50, 000 American green cards per year – Lemass wanted the youth to stay at home, so rescinded the deal. What a stupid thing to do, other small countries would love a similar deal.
Also, if I were illegally in Ireland (im not, I swears) id get as many people as possible, in a similar position as myself, to write a letter to the American ambassador(Dan Rooney?) to Ireland to highlight the Irish governments hypocrisy on this issue.
Theres similar number of illegal immigrants here, as there are Irish over there. Lets be realistic – neither groups are going to ever leave. Probably best to legalise both and then become more stringent on incomers.
Get our country in order first. Legal immigrants face hugh increase in price of visas and documents.schools and colleges go bankrupt and leave foreign students with nothing. Cost of citizenship is over 1k. Criteria to setup business here and be granted business visa is to have 300k in bank and employ 2 irish citizens.
As for illegal here, employees hold all the power and face only slap on wrist if caught paying next to nothing. If we imposed zero tolerence how many would loose childcare? All the conditions that illegals face in USA are the same and worse here.
So buy getting our country in order first… Do you mean have America return all the illegal Irish to Ireland and Ireland return all of the illegal immigrants to their countries of orgin? Then permit all to apply and use the legal routes of entry into each country?
@marlon no i dont want a population of 18 million in ireland. What i am saying is that both countries need immigration and a balance in legislation to be made in order to have less illegal. when you are seeking legal entry, you face so many costs and barriers that only promote the opposite or leave people changing status every 2nd year or stuck here illegal after working for 5 years.
Without immigration in USA it has been shown that statistically many industries would be in trouble 50% workforce on farms are immigrants and qaurter construction and child minding rough stats taken from hispanic centres. While we were in boom years it would not have been possible without a immigrant workforce and in hardtimes childcare is a major priority.
Barney R, I believe we are in agreement regarding the fact that America and Ireland both need immigration. However, I believe that we are not in agreement regarding the legality of the immigration. An Irish Illegal\undocumented immigrant in America is unacceptable and these persons are criminals. An Illegal\undocumented immigrant in Ireland is unacceptable and these persons are criminals.
Hundreds of people in both countries go through the proper channels and procedures to enter and remain. Why should persons who by-passed immigration laws be given legal status?
I believe the Irish government should stop lobbying America to permit illegal\undocumented Irish immigrants to remain and instead enacting a reciprocity program.
Funny that america was a powerhouse before the ted kennnedy immigration reform bill. No country needs mass immigration. The farmers can modernise rather than rely on cheapo labour.
Cautious Budget on the cards as ministers rule out spending and tax decisions that create new risks
Updated
26 mins ago
5.1k
Good Morning
The 9 at 9: Friday
Updated
1 hr ago
2.2k
Live Blog
US stocks drop sharply as EU considers response to Trump tariffs
17 hrs ago
48.6k
71
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 161 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 110 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 143 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 113 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 134 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 61 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 74 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 46 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 92 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 99 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 72 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 53 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 88 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say