The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has said building more homes won’t solve the housing crisis unless they are affordable. Its latest housing briefing also calls for action on the near-collapse in public housing provision.

ICTU says a major ‘affordability gap’ has been created in the home purchase and rental sectors, with the median house price in Dublin virtually doubling from €200,000 to over €390,000 between 2012 and 2020.

That requires a household income of at least €100,000 a year to qualify for a mortgage, and puts homes beyond the reach of 85% of households.

The median national price of a new build home has also risen 44% since 2016, to €355,000. The lack of affordable accommodation and the absence of public housing has seen a huge spike in the subsidies paid to private landlords through housing assistance payment (HAP) and similar supports.

Meanwhile, rents have risen by over 23% since 2015. The average monthly rent in Dublin now stands at €1,745, while some 91% of rents in Dublin now exceed €1,000 per month.

Budget 2021 saw almost €1 billion allocated to rental subsidies and leasing from landlords, which is 30% of the national housing spend.

Congress says the fall in public housing provision has amplified the problem. In 2008, the combined local authority build was almost 5,000 homes. By 2014, it was just 104.

Despite a housing need of some 20,000 in the Dublin region, the four Dublin authorities added just 2,352 public housing units net to stock, between 2017-2019.

Further, on the issue of low-cost delivery, figures from the housing department show that, by utilising public land, local authorities can deliver two affordable homes for the price of one privately-developed house.

Congress says the Land Development Agency bill 2021 doesn’t guarantee that public land will stay in public ownership and lacks any useful definition of an ‘affordable’ home. It says the Affordable Housing Bill is similarly flawed.

Despite the vast State subsidies flowing to private landlords, the sector is characterised by chronic insecurity for tenants, low quality accommodation and poor enforcement of standards.

Congress has called for the establishment of security of tenure through ending no-fault evictions and creating indefinite tenancies and leases. It also wants rent pressure zones to be expanded to establish national rent regulation, with rents set with reference to the rates in each locality.

Read the Congress briefing HERE.