The new Dáil term may only be underway but already the issue that looks set to dominate the political agenda from now, right up until the next General Election, appears to have identified itself.
ousing has long been a problem in Ireland but once again we find ourselves at a crisis point with a chronic shortage of housing; a lack of available mortgage credit; low wages and the presence of vulture funds combining to create a perfect storm.
A little over a decade on from the financial crash that tore the fabric of the country apart, we are once again seeing house prices – and the cost of renting – at boom levels, even though the easy credit money that fuelled the boom is nowhere to be seen.
Once again the notion of being able to afford a decent home is little more than a pipe dream for the vast majority, especially for young couples and families. Those who can afford to buy a home will typically find themselves in a shoebox property with a mortgage many times that of the property’s genuine value.
Like so many aspects of society, the Covid pandemic has highlighted the issue but it has also, directly, made it worse in many places.
For the last 18 months hundreds of thousands of people have been working from home and with the worst of the pandemic, hopefully, behind us much of the country’s workforce are now due to start returning to their offices.
Many, however, are not. Understandably, sick of city prices and the endless grind of urban life a huge number of these workers are opting to return to their home counties or relocate to rural areas.
While it is wonderful to see life returning to rural Ireland this isn’t without its problems. Most rural areas were already experiencing a drastic shortage of housing and the arrival of city workers – often with considerably higher wages – is sending the prices of the few available properties in many areas sky-rocketing.
This in turn drives people into the rental market where prices are also soaring amid a similar lack of supply.
Short term rental websites like Airbnb are often cited as the main culprit when surging rental prices are discussed and while they are a cause, Government housing policy also plays a major role.
For years now, Government housing policy has relied on the rental of properties rather than the construction of new social housing to accommodate those in need of homes. This has meant that the few rental properties available in many areas are taken up by local authority tenants. While this helps reduce housing lists in the short term, the real effect is to cut supply and further drive up prices, eventually forcing more people onto the same lists.
It’s a vicious circle and one the Government has done little to deal with. The simple answer is we need more homes and, right now, they are not being built either by Government or by the private sector.
The new housing plan launched by Government – the latest in a very long line of such plans – has laudable ambitions but it is chronically short of new ideas. Without fresh thinking it’s hard to see this crisis ending anytime soon.
