Homeownership is very dear to the hearts of Irish people. It should be a reasonable hope of any family but homeownership has nose-dived and is sadly now a dream rather than a reality. Property prices have increased by over 47% since 2020, locking large numbers out of homeownership, and driving those lucky enough to secure a house into debt. The housing emergency in the State is driving middle and low-income families into whatever private rented accommodation that is available at extortionate rents. Meanwhile, the corporate landlords, the institutional investors and the big developers make handsome profits. Unaffordable rip-off rents mean that couples cannot even save towards a deposit. Rents are now as high as €2,500 per month. Families cannot save. In fact, families are living week to week. We can throw into this mix the fact that institutional investors continue to bulk purchase family homes. This drives up prices and deprives ordinary families of homes. Investment funds purchased 2,000 houses between May 2021 and the end of 2025, attracting the higher rate of stamp duty. This is the tip of the iceberg because these investment funds can buy up to nine houses at a time without attracting the higher rate of stamp duty. It is no wonder that teachers, gardaí, nurses and many middle-range public servants cannot buy a house. Many are condemned to long-term renting at unaffordable rip-off rents, or must stay in the box room of the family home. Last weekend, a feature in the Sunday Independent showed that even when both people are working, couples cannot afford to buy a home and, of course, cannot access a local authority housing list. A teacher from County Wicklow spoke about the situation in a recent edition of InTouch, which is the monthly magazine of the Irish National Teachers Organisation: I am a qualified Irish teacher in my early 30s. Despite holding an AP2 post, home ownership is still out of reach. On a post-2011 pay scale, my salary cannot meet today's housing reality. The average house in Wicklow now costs close to €400,000 - far beyond what one income can support. Even with a partner earning the same, buying is still not feasible. It is no wonder that many of the brightest and the best are to be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, Boston, London and the Middle East. This housing emergency is undermining the very fabric of Irish society. The social contract between the State and the public has collapsed. Stopping the purchase of family homes by investment funds would be a small but significant start in repairing that damage.

Sentiment score: -0.03