Bacik calls for “structural revolution” in housing

Labour leader Ivana Bacik has condemned the government over their handling of the housing issue and has called for a “structural revolution” to address the issue.

A report from the Economic and Social Research Institute found that one-third of adults under 40 own a home in Ireland, which contrasts with the same figure standing at over 80% among over 40.

Responding to the report, Bacik remarked “the two largest parties in government like to think of themselves as the parties of home ownership” and the ESRI report “blows that assertion out of the water.”

Per the report, more than a quarter of 25-34 year olds still live with their parents.

The Dublin Bay South TD said the report underpins the assertion that Ireland hasone of the largest home-ownership gaps in the whole of Europe.

“The ESRI’s findings are made particularly stark when we consider the lack of statutory protections for renters, as well as the shortage of rental properties, and high rents in Ireland.”

“Indeed, we know that rents have continued to rise in recent years, with the standardised average rent for new tenants having increased by one-fifth between 2019 and 2022, according to the Residential Tenancies Board.”

Bacick noted that the governing Conservative Party in the United Kingdom accept policies such as restricting “no-fault evictions”, and says Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are “running scared” from the same policies.

“The report lays bare the different between the ‘have-lots’ and ‘have nots’ in our society and tells us what we already knew: the government has abandoned an entire generation to the private rental casino game.”

“Generational inequality continues to widen, despite record budget surpluses and high GDP. Those who are trapped renting or living with their parents cannot afford to move on or move out” and said “the government needs to step in and step up to change this.”

Baick accused the coalition parties of “circling the wagons” ahead of next year’s local local elections, and said overtures of Budget measures for landlords was “kite-flying.”

“I regularly hear from home-owning adults, expressing their concern that their children and grandchildren do not have the pathway to secure housing that previous generations were able to take as a given.”

“For seven years, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have held the balance of power together; clearly, they have run out of ideas, with those locked out of housing suffering the worst consequences of that failure.”

“We need a structural revolution in housing. Government representatives have displayed an alarming fatalism in response to Labour’s constructive proposals to increase housing supply. Anyone who wants to see how that fatalism and drop in ambition has manifested should read the ESRI’s report,” she said.