The Irish government’s ‘mid-term legacy’ of ‘broken promises’ means that over 450,000 young adults are forced to remain living at home with their parents, resulting in “profound stress, anxiety, and shattered dreams” according to Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath and his colleagues in the Rural Independent Group.
Speaking from Leinster House this week, leader of the Rural Independent Group, Deputy Mattie McGrath, said that while the “spin machines” of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Greens “work overtime,” in the real world, their policies are failing – and are failing young people especially, many of whom have been forced to move back into their childhood bedrooms.
The comments come as recent EU figures, published this September, showed that young Irish adults are likely to still be living at home with their parents into their late twenties.
Statistics from the European Commission showed that, in 2021, the average age of Irish people before they moved out of the family home was 27.9 years.
It is the 12th highest average age for young adults to leave home among the 27 EU member states and is slightly above the EU average of 26.5 years.
The statistics revealed that young Irish males are more likely to stay living with their parents than Irish females – a trend which is mirrored in all other countries in Europe. The situation unfolding for Irish adults is likely a direct result of the housing crisis, with the Rural Independents among those to blame the Government for not doing enough to solve the crisis preventing people from owning their own homes.
The Rural Independent said:
“This week, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and the Greens will do much back-clapping and self-promoting as their spin machines work overtime, and holding onto the trappings of power is the only priority. However, in the ‘real world,’ it’s their glaring policy failings, especially when it comes to housing, that is so destructive to every community country-wide.”
“This government’s housing policies are cases of spin over substance. Ireland’s young people have been betrayed, as the pathway to housing is damaging their mental health and socio-economic outlook.”
He continued to highlight the growing numbers of young Irish people who are living at home with their parents due to the cost of housing – pointing out that the figure jumped from 54% in 2014 to 75% in 2021 for those aged 20 to 29 years old. He cited figures from countries including Finland and Denmark where the percentage is significantly lower despite having similar demographics to Ireland.
“Thirty months of Micheál Martin as Taoiseach have resulted in a catastrophic worsening of the numbers of young adults in Ireland now living with their parents, due to the astronomical cost and lack of housing. In total, there are over 450,000 young adults, aged between 20 and 34, living at home with their parents,” McGrath said.
“This abject policy failure has caused the highest proportion of young people aged between 20 and 29 to live with their parents since records began. Eurostat data illustrates that over 75 percent (3 in every 4) young adults in Ireland were living with their parents in 2021, up significantly from 54 percent in 2014.”
“Contrastingly, in Finland and Denmark – countries with similar demographics to Ireland – the percentage of the same age cohort living with their parents is 15 and 12 respectively.”
Speaking on behalf of the Rural Independents, which comprises TDs Carol Nolan, Michael Collins, Danny Healy-Rae, Michael Healy-Rae, and Richard O’Donoghue, he said they fear that things are worsening for young adults.
“However, the worrying trajectory of the data confirms things are intensifying, not improving. With the government mid-term changeover, comes the fact that almost 8 in every 10 Irish people aged 20 to 29 (80 percent) are forced to live with their parents this year, as the proportion of young adults living with their parents continues to rise faster in Ireland than any other EU country,” he added.
‘Objective analysis will conclude Govt has failed young people’
“The government will no doubt be boasting about their achievements this week; however, the reality is that any objective analysis will conclude that it has completely failed its young people,” Mr McGrath added on the week that Michael Martin’s tenure as Taoiseach comes to an end.
The Tipperary Independent concluded:
“Micheál Martin’s reign as Taoiseach has locked increasingly more young adults out of buying or renting their own homes. The lives of this generation are on hold, their aspirations and dreams shattered, as prolonged stress and anxiety fill every day. This blatant reality represents a mid-term legacy of ‘broken promises’ and ‘failed policies’ given to us by this coalition government”.
The Rural Independents were not alone in highlighting the perceived failure on the part of the government to help make renting or owning a house easier. Also, this week, speaking in the Dail, TD Peadar Tóibín also slammed the government for their failure to tackle the housing crisis.
“Record homelessness, record housing waiting lists, record rents and record house prices. How could we have confidence in a Minister or Government when that is the result of their work,” the Aontu leader said.
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