Ireland is building more homes than it has in over a decade — and yet, the housing crisis keeps getting worse. Rents are soaring. House prices are out of reach. Young people are moving abroad, and families are spending over half their income just to keep a roof over their heads.
If building more homes was the answer, we’d be seeing progress by now. But we’re not. Why?
Because the crisis isn’t just about supply. It’s about inequality.
The Myth of “Build More, Problem Solved”
Irish politicians repeat it like a mantra: “We just need to build more houses.” On paper, it sounds simple. More homes should bring down prices — right?
In reality, the link between supply and affordability has completely broken down.
Take 2023: Ireland built over 32,000 new homes — the highest level since the Celtic Tiger. But average house prices still rose. And rents? They hit record highs.
The truth is, building more homes doesn’t help when the wrong people are buying them. And right now, that’s exactly what’s happening.
Who’s Buying the Homes? Not Ordinary Families
Wealth inequality in Ireland means ordinary workers are outmatched from the start.
- Investors and landlords, often cash-rich, swoop in to buy multiple properties.
- Institutional investors — including foreign funds — are bulk-buying apartment blocks.
- Many homes never even reach the open market.
Meanwhile, the average Irish wage earner can’t compete. They’re stuck saving for years just to afford a deposit, while prices climb faster than their pay.
“A new home doesn’t make the crisis better if it goes straight into a millionaire’s portfolio.”
This isn’t a free market — it’s a rigged game where the wealthy always get there first.
How Inequality Breaks the Housing Market
Let’s be blunt: inequality turns housing into a money machine for the rich — and a trap for everyone else.
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The rich buy homes to generate more wealth.
They collect rent. They watch prices rise. They gain — simply by owning. -
Ordinary people rent.
They watch their income disappear into someone else’s mortgage. -
The gap grows wider every year.
The more homes we build without tackling this dynamic, the more fuel we pour onto the fire. Supply alone won't fix it — because it doesn’t change who holds the power.
What Real Solutions Look Like
To actually fix the housing crisis, we need to deal with the elephant in the room: wealth inequality. That means going beyond building numbers and addressing who owns what — and how many.
Here’s what needs to happen:
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🏠 Tax multiple-property owners more heavily.
Penalise those using housing purely for profit, not living. -
🌍 Restrict speculative foreign investment.
Irish homes shouldn’t be hedge fund assets. -
🧱 Incentivise affordable ownership.
Not just social housing — but real, attainable homes for working people. -
🔁 Redistribute housing, not just increase it.
If we don’t change who benefits, nothing changes.
Conclusion: We Don’t Just Have a Housing Crisis. We Have a Wealth Crisis.
Every new home that ends up in a landlord’s portfolio is a lost opportunity for a family to build a future. Every unaffordable house is a symptom of a deeper disease: the hoarding of wealth and power by a small elite.
Until we tackle that imbalance, the Irish housing market will continue to fail the people who need it most.
“Ireland doesn’t just need more homes. It needs fewer millionaires hoarding them.”