Census figures show “ticking time bomb” in housing says Bacik

The publication of the Census of Population 2022 Profile on Housing in Ireland shows that the Government are “unprepared to deal with the compounding crisis for people looking for a safe, secure and affordable home,” according to Labour leader Ivana Bacik.

The Dublin Bay South TD said, “every person has a right to a home, however, that right is not being properly vindicated in Ireland today.”

The number of households headed by someone of pension age or over renting from a private landlord rose to almost 17,000 in 2022 according to Census data, with serves as an increase of 83% since the last census in 2016.

For privately rented households headed by a person aged between 60 and 64, this figure rose by 69% in the same period.

The figures were published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) this morning and provide an insight into the situation for renters across the country.

While the highest proportion of renters was made up of younger people in 2022, since the 2016 census, “significant increases were recorded in the number of dwellings rented by households headed by a person aged 60 years or over”.

“There was a time when a single income family could reasonably expect to be able to purchase a home and pay off a mortgage before retirement – that is simply not a reality anymore.”

“Our social security system and our system of care for older people is predicated on the assumption that older people will own their own home. Already, so many people – young and old – are suffering due to the broken private rented sector and the lack of housing supply.”

“The direction of travel which is indicated by these new Census figures would indicate that the Government is in possession of a ticking time bomb,” she said.

“More and more people are renting in Ireland but fewer and fewer renters can afford to do so.”

“Labour representatives are now hearing more regularly from people in their sixties and seventies who are in serious housing distress. Many of them are facing eviction – an awful reality for someone to face at any age but, particularly, as an older person.”

Bacik repeated her calls for what she calls a “structural revolution” the housing system, calling for greater state intervention in housing matters and for the introduction of no-fault eviction bans.

The Labour leader noted that the governing Conservative party in the United Kingdom have implemented the idea, and said that the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition are “running out of ideas” when it comes to housing.

“Government representatives have displayed alarming fatalism in response to Labour’s proposals to increase housing supply – it’s time for a change of approach,” she said.