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HOUSING CRISIS ARE two words that were virtually synonymous with Ireland in 2017.
During the year you could hardly open a paper, flick on a TV, or read this business website without getting another local property horror stories.
Both house prices and rents soared as a lack of supply bit. While it is hoped that things will improve in 2018, here are a few stories from that illustrate some of the craziness of Ireland’s housing market in 2017.
January – Rent pressure zones roll out
While rent pressure zones were first introduced in Dublin and Cork in December, they went nationwide the following month. In January rent caps were rolled out to almost two dozen towns across Ireland in an effort to keep a lid on spiking rental prices.
February – 10 more years
While Ireland, and particularly Dublin, does have a housing shortage now, many hope that the situation will improve in the coming years as more homes in development come on-stream.
Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s has a more glum outlook. It said that while Ireland’s housing sector is recovering after the crash, “it will likely take a decade or so to recover to equilibrium levels”.
April – 12 months’ rent
With prices soaring, landlords were in a strong bargaining position. This was clearly illustrated when it was revealed that some landlords were asking for as much as 12 months’ rent up-front.
May – Sleeping in garda stations
As the number of homeless people rose throughout the year, it became more and more difficult to find somewhere to shelter those in need.
A dozen families presenting as homeless ended up sleeping in offices and garda stations after being unable to find either emergency accommodation or a place in a hotel or hostel.
July – Return of the bedsit?
Bedsits, typically single-room properties in a complex where the occupants share a bathroom, were outlawed just four years ago amidst complaints that they were sub-standard accommodation.
In a move that came in for sharp criticism, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy indicated that he was considering re-introducing the small living spaces. After the announcement met with a lukewarm reception, there’s been little mention of it since.
August – Back with the parents
Meet Orla. She’s saving up to buy a house, and to do so she’s decided to give up renting and move back in with her parents.
Her story was highlighted in an ad by Bank of Ireland, which was widely criticised as emblematic of how buying a house has become a pipe dream for many young people.
September – Tax cuts for builders
Despite the fact that the summer weather has faded, September is actually the best month of the year to fly kites.
In the run up to the budget politicians on all sides of the political spectrum float their pet projects in the hope of it gaining traction. Fianna Fáil’s housing spokesman, Barry Cowen, proposed that VAT for builders could be cut in an effort to tackle the housing shortage.
The proposal was slammed by rival parties, and there was no mention of it in the budget a month later.
October – Building on green spaces
As house costs continued to rise, Dublin council’s city manager Owen Keegan had a novel proposal for tackling the housing shortage – build on green spaces.
He argued that there are too many open spaces in council lands that “do not offer significant amenity value” and could be better used for residential development.
October – It’s normal
As a counterbalance to much of the commentary throughout the year, the outgoing chair of the government’s Housing Agency, Conor Skehan, argued that Ireland’s housing shortage is actually “completely normal”.
“Every country in Europe has equivalent issues in terms of affordability, in terms of homelessness. One of the tragedies of living on an island is that we are people who indulge in insular thinking,” he said.
November – €470 for bunk beds?
Our colleagues over at one of Fora’s sister sites, DailyEdge.ie, were also tracking the rental market throughout the year.
In this piece they highlighted some of the more depressing properties on offer to rent in Dublin. €470 a month for half a bunk bed? Anyone?
November – 16 to a room
Many of the endemic problems in Ireland’s housing market were starkly illustrated by an RTÉ Investigates documentary.
The programme showed the cramped conditions that many tenants are living in, and highlighted that only 4% of registered rental properties in Ireland were inspected last year.
Written by Paul O’Donoghue and posted on Fora.ie
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I saw a piece a few weeks ago, it was a 60 minutes Australia show on Chernoble. So there the presenter was talking about the levels of radiation and even in the control room etc. They then went to an orphanage where kids with birth defects were, and there they were a bunch of Irish builders on their own time at their own expense building a better facility for the kids. The presenter was nearly in tears, he said to one of the lads, “I didn’t think fellas like you existed any more?”… and the Irish fella said “sure theres loads of us here” and he went off back to work.
It makes me proud that this country can produce people like that.
Beautiful
Seriously, what knob would red thumb that comment. Unbelievable.
Sorry that was me – I’ve had a few and I’ve big fingers *hick*
The Irish, sure aren’t we a great bunch of lads!!! Thanks Ronan, I’d love to see that show if you have a link. We are a great people, sure people give out that we didn’t riot and give all hell over austerity but I think we’re better than that. Riots cause victims, the shop owner who’s windows get destroyed, the business out of pocket cos they had to close to carry out expensive repairs. I’d like to think we are better than that. Rioting would have gotten us no where. We have built something now that we can hopefully grow from. It’s still a bloody awful situation that we are in and some people are suffering badly but rioting would have solved nothing. It may have even made things worse for people who could have lost their jobs as a result. Perhaps for 2014 we can ditch the sheeple bolli*ks and just admit that we are actually in this together, for the long haul. We may hate each other’s politics, we may despise each other’s party but as a nation we are in this together and we will see this through. We will see this country back to greatness and welcome home those who have had to travel abroad. This country is great. Not was great or can be great. It and us just bloody ate. Get used to it and get behind it or just f*ck off!
@ Barry
http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/richardcarleton/259381/inside-chernobyl
If you’re in a hurry, skip to 11.00mins to the Irish Volunteers.
Thanks for that. How brave of that reporter. Scary place.
Thanks for that link
When Bertie ahern went to prison, oh wait.
That’s terrible, Bertie was a good man
The crutch should have received a posthumous award.
Do you mean, the crotch?
And now for something different .. why so many green thumbs for Tom Feehan’s statement?
Some nice pieces there,good to see the neighbours help an elderly person,and what a summer we had,
Don’t forget the old man who saved his pension money to donate food to dog shelter and Lidl treating him for Christmas! That was nice story :-)
I heart Ireland
If we had à summer like 2013 every year, and ousted all the violence, we would have à great new year ever year. Love each other.
For me it was the Donal Cusack blog. Powerful stuff. http://ccusack111.blogspot.ie/2013/10/depression-is-friend-not-my-enemy_28.html?m=1
The Domhnall moment on the Late Late
you know for all the crap we have to deal with there are some amazing people and moments out there. It’s good to be reminded of it sometimes. Thanks for posting.
Donal Walsh should have this article all to himself.
Legend of a young lad & his ilk is needed more and more in our society
The Weather, had to be?
The New Year would have been great if there was a change of government.
My partner volunteered in Chernobyl a few years back, he said it was both the hardest and most rewarding thing he has ever done!
Ah that old chestnut ” a change of government ”
Irish governments are like two pairs of underpants
You select one and put up with them until they need changing
Then you select the second pair and put up with them until the first and still unwashed pair start to look like a more acceptable alternative
Thanks for the link John Buckley. Scary stuff but great to see the boys doing their thing. Great work!!!
OMG, as they say.
Why red thumbs not that it bothers me? Surely the majority of Irish people would accept a change of government because of the way we have been robbed with unfair taxes, bullied and intimidated.
Dont remember any of them but if you say so thaths ok:)
The comments on this article only show sadly that some people are so fixed in their negativity that they cannot allow themselves a little moment of happiness and choose instead to make negative comments about items not even mentioned in the article. We wonder why people call us a nation of begrudgers?
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