It should come as no shock to anyone living in Ireland or those who have left Ireland that a recent fact-finding mission by the European Parliament’s housing committee found Ireland’s housing crisis to be one of the “most severe” and “most complicated” in Europe. Attributing our worsening crisis in part to institutional landlords, evictions, and the growth of short-term lettings, MEP Irene Tinagli, the Chair of the housing committee, seemingly upset our government in not giving it the praise it believes we unrightfully deserve. Complaining that other EU member states also have housing crises, Tánaiste Simon Harris attempted to hit back by saying our new build home completion is higher than the European average. He also used this time to push for an update to rural planning guidelines.
Where I find Tánaiste Harris’ comments to be ironically funny is that he himself knew he could not speak to the direct comments made in relation to the increasing dominance of institutional landlords, staggering eviction rates in the wake of the new tenancy bill, and prolific use of what should be long-term rentals being used as short-term holiday lettings. He could not speak to this because his party and his coalition created this exact environment in which MEP Tinagli spoke to. To add to this, his refusal to use the words “housing crisis” in his response, instead calling it an “emergency”, goes to show the disconnect and unwillingness to call a spade a spade. He also deflected responsibility, claiming “No matter what role you play in the State […] the housing emergency isn’t the job of someone else. It involves everyone coming together”. While yes, this needs to be approached at all angles, it is also difficult to address a crisis when the government seemingly pretends that the most pressing issue isn’t the lack of stock, but the lack of affordable stock.
Affordability is a pressing issue across the entire country, but felt even more so in our cities. Soaring rent prices and housing prices have been consistently discussed by us through our various blogs and research. The squeezing of all sectors—not enough social housing, unaffordable private rentals, unattainable homeownership costs—leaves us with exactly what MEP Tinagli says: a severe and complicated housing crisis. Not an emergency. A crisis.
While yes, the Tánaiste is correct that a re-evaluation of planning guidelines could be of use, particularly in rural areas where people want to build a home on their family land. Living in one’s community should be supported and encouraged through the proper channels. But people in the cities also want to be supported and encouraged to stay in their community without having to emigrate and create a new community because housing has become so dire that it is easier to move to Australia. The lack of long-term rentals due to the proliferation of Airbnb’s across Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Limerick means more people are fighting for less supply. You don’t have to be an economist to know that when demand is high and supply is low, prices go up. And what better opportunity for institutional investors to swoop in and capitalise on the “new market rent price” while also continuing to push it up (the Residential Pressure Zone cap of 2% doesn’t apply to new-build institutional landlords!).
But of course, this isn’t politically savvy for the government to talk about, so the status quo of “deflect, defend, deny” must be adhered to. The hostility towards our European friends now sets an interesting scene for what may come ahead of us as Ireland takes up the EU Presidency next month, surely shining a stronger light on our failings. Until then though, we will continue to address the elephant in the room that the government are so keen to pretend doesn’t exist.
