IF YOU had emigrated during the recession and were now considering returning home to be part of Ireland’s tentative economic recovery, RTÉ’s hard-hitting programme about our ongoing property crisis would have convinced you to stay put.
Equally, financial institutions looking for an EU base following Brexit would also be inclined to look beyond these shores. What’s the point bringing jobs to our capital if we’ve nowhere for staff to live?
‘Ireland’s Property Crisis’ made for compulsive but depressing viewing. Our housing problem is now so multi-layered that all segments of society are affected. Whether you are trying to rent or get a foothold on the property ladder as a first-time buyer, you will encounter insurmountable obstacles.
Those already burned by the last housing bubble, trapped in negative equity apartments no longer suitable for growing families, are also goosed. As was the case with one family featured in the programme, they have become both accidental landlords and reluctant renters, walking a precarious financial tightrope to make ends meet.
The story of homeless man Colin set social media alight; the reaction a mixture of outrage at his situation and admiration for the dignity he displayed in the face of such adversity.
The queues of people trying to view a small apartment in Clondalkin also offered a shocking insight into the housing crisis.
We are led to believe that the basic economic principles of supply and demand are at the heart of the housing situation. Quite simply, not enough new units are being built to keep pace with housing needs. Similarly, there is a chronic shortage of affordable rental properties.
Prospective buyers at every level are finding the property market volatile and unpredictable, with asking prices now seemingly just notional figures designed to fire the starting gun on bidding wars.
Housing Minister Simon Coveney seems well-intentioned and genuinely interested in tackling the crisis but he is facing battles on many fronts. He would do well to continue to seek counsel from David Hall of the Irish Mortgage Holders’ Organisation to get a real sense of what’s happening, particularly in the area of bank repossessions and families being left at the mercy of vulture funds.
The only saving grace of the current property crisis is that it is now equally discriminating against us all – buyer, renter, seller, the homeless. Unfortunately, that’s not the type of equality we want or deserve in a properly functioning society.
t.mccullagh@dublinpeople.com