Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD has accused the Government of ‘failing renters’ as a new ESRI report on housing affordability shows that 1 in 4 renters struggle with high rents.

The report also highlighted the dramatic increase in people under the age of 40 living with their parents and the drop-in home ownership rates among the under 40s.
 
Teachta Ó Broin said:
 
“The latest ESRI report on housing affordability is a valuable piece of research which deepens our understanding of the ongoing housing crisis.
 
“Amongst the report’s starkest finding is the fact that 1 in 4 renters pay more than 30% of their take home pay on rent. While the largest portion of these renters are low earners, the ESRI report also shows a significant number of middle and high-income earners paying high rents.
 
“Young people, single people and lone parents are particularly impacted by high rents.
 
“The report also shows that 1 in 4 people under the age of 34 are still living with their parents, a significant increase on 2015.
 
“Home ownership amongst younger people is also continuing to decline with just 1 in 3 under 40s owning their own home.
 
“It is important to remember that this report is based on 2019 data. Since then, house prices and rents have continued to soar upwards, making the affordability crisis for renters and would be byers even more acute today.
 
“What the data confirms is that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are failing renters and those desperate to own their own home.
 
“We have had 12 years of Fine Gael in Government. Fianna Fail have been propping them up for 7 years. Darragh O’Brien has been Minister for Housing for 3 years. And during all of this time the affordability crisis has gone from bad to worse.
 
“This week saw more missed targets from Darragh O’Brien, more policies that will further push up house prices and more taxpayer funded bailouts for developers.
 
“We need a government that will deliver genuinely affordable homes at scale. We need a government that will deliver public housing on public land commensurate with the need for social and affordable homes. We need a government that will stand up for renters and tackle runaway rents. Only a government led by Sinn Féin can start to undo the decades of damage visited on our housing system by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.”