A new report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) provides some worrying insights into how the housing crisis is impacting young adults in Ireland, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.
“The latest results from the ‘Growing Up in Ireland’ project show that 69 per cent of 25-year-olds still live with their parents. Among those, more than 80 per cent said this was mostly or partly for financial reasons.
“Many of those participating in the survey also reported having poorer mental health than they did when they were aged 20, and said they were very concerned about housing and climate.
“Of the 25-year-olds who do not live with their parents, less than one-eighth are the owner/occupier of their own home; three-fifths are renting privately; and a further eight per cent are renting from a family member.
“The results of this survey again highlight the utter sense of hopelessness and despair felt by young adults in Ireland today. For the hundreds of thousands stuck living in their childhood bedrooms, the dream of owning – or even renting – an affordable home has become increasingly out of reach.
“A change of Housing Minister will not make a difference to their lives unless it is accompanied by a radical reset of policy. The new programme for government, which is sparse on detail and contains the same tired and failed formulas, hardly inspires confidence that things will change for the better under this administration.
“Given that the last government undershot its own housing targets for 2024 by a considerable distance, the new coalition’s claim that it will build 300,000 homes over the next five years will understandably be met with scepticism by the generation locked out of housing.”
January 27, 2025