Why living in Ireland has become impossible

[@TheInvisibleHandCo]

Go to surfshark.com/invisiblehand for an extra 4 months of Surfshark

[@marcl.1346]

This problem we've seen in so many other Western countries and every time it all comes back to these things: Everybody wants/is pushed to get a university degree which makes a degree relatively worthless and homes hard to build because there are not enough craftsmen + Letting in enormous hoards of people from 3rd world countries with no marketable skills = Not enough houses, not enough people to build them, educated jobs not paying enough to pay for them

[@rattlehead999]

Not really, it's corporations and rich people buying out the homes and then using algorithms with regional income data to technically and legally price fix the rents and prices for a dual income household. It's not simply supply and demand in 9/10 countries. Also they don't teach anything in school or university, I know from experience.

[@nonotorious1467]

When i went back to college at 36 there was 13 ppl in my engineering class, there was well over 100 kids doing "health and leisure" treating the place like a hangout because they had almost no classes. After the first semester my class halved because they couldn't afford it and they weren't getting anything from the gov, yet there was hundreds of kids there probably because their parents told them to get a degree.

[@mbathroom1]

just switch out ireland for canada, britain or australia and it's the same story. Very sad

[@rattlehead999]

It's not supply and demand when it comes to homes. My country went from 10-11 million population down to 6.5 million from 1991 to 2024. During that same period we have built 3-4x more homes in big cities than there were 30-35 years ago. Yet in the 90s the median home(which was 71-74m^2) costed 2-3x median yearly salaries, now the median home(which is 48-52m^2) costs 9-12x median yearly salaries. Why? Because big companies and rich people buy out all the homes, or straight up build them, then price them using algorithms to get the price as high as possible and this is price fixing, but since the governments are incompetent it is not considered price fixing. 36-40%+ of homes are empty in big cities where 80%+ of people live btw, it's not a supply issue.

[@iseeyou3129]

Bulgaria?

[@Bd-ng1zv]

According to the government we need immigrants so that we can build more houses for immigrants

[@GolemDude]

The problem is everyone is cramped up in eastern Ireland. In theory you could repopulate communities in western Ireland that perished thanks to the British, millions of homes could be built there The real problem is that in the modern age, civilization is trapped to where it already exists. 200 years ago you could just move to the middle of nowhere and live by yourself, eventually you’ll get more and more neighbors and electricity, plumbing, the internet, and other infrastructure would come later. Today, all that must be built first before people will move there Who’s going to move to an area where there is no internet, electricity, plumbing, roads, JOBS, or anything or the sort. An example here is Los Vegas, if it didn’t already exist in the 21st century, it would remain that way, an empty desert.

[@chronosx7]

Would've liked a deeper look into "what it takes" to build houses in Ireland and not just "there's too much demand and not enough skilled workers to build them"

[@christopherfleming7505]

Yes, this explanation seems entirely insufficient. If the whole problem were a lack of skilled workers who can build new homes, the same thing would happen as when Google and Apple established themselves in Ireland: the right kind of people would flock to the country, drawn by the opportunity. Whenever there is a huge demand and little supply, the market tends to adjust, as long as the government doesn't get in the way with regulations.

[@philipfisher8853]

Yup. Wealth distribution plays a part. The rich get richer.

[@freetime5803]

Well hey, at least the multi-billion dollar companies get to set up their HQs here with low corporate tax! Leave them alone, they are people too! This place is a fucking dump.

[@kerrithornton]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="169">2:49</a> I'm Irish. I left in 2018. I should have left sooner. I had a degree and had not been able to get work. I was living at home and I was on social welfare because I had no job. I regularly volunteered at jobs and took odd temp jobs to try make up for it. I felt so sick of not being able to afford to live. I left and my quality of life tripled. There are still issues but now I can afford to live on my own, have a really good job and can afford to actually save money.

[@andrewboland1062]

It's sad how things turned out... mad to think how many people cant afford a home couldn't imagine that and makes me feel more grateful for a roof over my head.

[@antaibhshaglas3737]

In all towns across the country,theres a Lot of derelect and abandoned houses,an eyesore in most towns

[@tonycallahan4488]

There is another interesting problem in Ireland which helps fuel the crisis on a more "local" level but with nationwide repercussions. Because of the tech jobs that exist in this country, which are significantly higher paid than most "normal" jobs for domestic companies, you have a small amount of buyers with much bigger salaries than the average person. The average person will find it challenging to earn more than €50k per year but some of the tech jobs pay €120k per year and more. But there are probably more people working those tech jobs making 6 figures then there are people earning between €50-100k a year (just a guess), so there is a huge gap rather than a more normative tiered wage structure that you have in most economies. Those people are easily able to afford homes, especially outside Dublin, resulting in bidding wars at the real estate agent level that further drives prices up. Plus if you have a couple where one spouse earns €120k from a tech job and the other earns €50k a year working somewhere else, that's a combined salary of €170k and a purchasing power in the mortgage market of €680k if they're first time buyers. So even though the majority of people are priced out of the market, there are just barely enough high earners to keep the bidding going and push the prices up and up. Open to feedback and correction here of course.

[@d.3521]

Here in Germany they also wanna move 150 people to a 180 people village The major is from the center-right CDU and wants to enforce his decision This isn't the first time this happens with the CDU and they wonder why nobody takes them seriously on migration

[@Klimklamm]

Ive had to leave for Australia because the country is an absolute mess. Nearly everyone i know under 30 is leaving the country or has left. The price of everything is insane and wages are laughably shit. My wages have doubled here in Perth and my costs down 25% it's literally a no brain move.

[@julienriou4511]

so what's your next country ? (don't tell me the us please)

[@andrzejkowalski2848]

Monaco is probably the richest country in the world with a GDP per capita of around $250,000. How many people in Monaco own a home? What percentage only rent their homes?

[@diarmaidmoloney5611]

The planning system is big problem, also the local authorities need to improve public infrastructure for new homes. The amount if refugees and migrants that moved here in a 4 year period has made it far worse. In 4 years about 500,000 people moved here, equal to about 10% of the population. The government denied that it has impacted the housing crisis doesn't help things. The government keep calling everyone a racist if they say the amount of immigrants moving here each year is contributing to the housing issues. Only skills workers earning over €40000 should be aloud to move here until the supply of housing improves.

[@dahorn100011]

We have similar problems in the UK too. We had 1 million move here in 2023. The immigration problem is two fold. Businesses need workers, but workers of the wrong skill level are here. Companies refusing to train people. You import people. They communicate its good here. More come. and the cycle repeats. Companies should be subject to higher taxes on workers who are on work visas Vs. those who were trained in their home country.

[@cristianfamigliuolo]

I forgot to say that Ireland's success is not as real as it is said and only fiscal therefore not based on concrete data. These are all jobs that are now automated, digitalized so no more Need for these people if they retire they are not replaced and the others are resigned

[@Edmund12348]

I left Ireland four years ago and moved to the UAE, I'm living in the US now and will stay here for the next few years. I'd like to buy my parents a decent home in my hometown, however anything decent is 400k+, bonkers. Biggest issue I have is that, even in Dublin, there is little opportunity compared to other capital cities, and the cost of living and taxes are sky high. The cost of living and taxes are sky high in New York as well, but YOU'RE IN NEW YORK!

[@Fanad4Life]

Another major factor (along with many issues) is the planning system. There has been increasing red tape and environmental protections (a lot imposed at EU level), which has clogged up the planning system. There has recently been some attempts to speed up and bypass existing hurdles in planning approvals in order to keep up with housing demands.

[@magdap28]

Everywhere housing has the same problem

[@clp91009]

During the height of the Celtic Tiger in Ireland you couldn’t show your face in the pub if you only had one house.

[@canGS55]

Bro seriously which country we are going to live? Tell somewhere easy to buy house please.

[@tomo1168]

c'mon, in Switzerland you only get a half apartment for that price...

[@andrewboland1062]

All them big american companies should be highly taxed and the money from them making business here should be taxed and put into building more housing for everyone in Éire, if not they should be told to sell up and leave..

[@SilverWave64]

How do these migrants even get there? Ireland is an island far away from mainland Europe and not in the Schengen area!

[@marcussver620]

I think bringing international students from India who buy houses in large numbers to bring even more students was a poor decision as it harms Irish culture.

[@mitasari7941]

Ja

[@AngeloSelestin-lg2lp]

Doesn't necessarily harm Irish culture as the second generation of those indian migrants would've most likely integrated to Irish culture

[@josephmurphy1690]

@@AngeloSelestin-lg2lpno they wouldn’t be

[@JFKxprinc]

@@AngeloSelestin-lg2lp To a certain extent, that's unlikely to happen. After a couple of generations, people in France aren't integrated in French culture, same with Germany, the Netherlands, Spain... People culturally identify with where their origins are. Maybe not entirely valid for the US but EU being so close to Africa and being part of Eurasia puts it in a position where people are never that far off from their country of origin.

[@Wkumar07]

That will be a beautiful sight 😅​@@AngeloSelestin-lg2lp

[@sloem]

I honestly think Ireland should try Singapore's HDB aproach

[@josephmurphy1690]

What is that?

[@sloem]

@josephmurphy1690 high rise buildings

[@alii303]

i live here and its great

[@phatatbui3316]

I think it is insignificant to compare with several developing countries like Vietnam, where the average house price is about $296000, 32.5 times the average GDP per capita. On the other hand, Ireland is proud of its safety and great tariff policies, which attract International corporation's investment. Although there are a number of detrimental impacts, Ireland is still a good country for most of us, as reflected by the immigration rate.

[@salted6422]

What the F is going in Vietnam?!

[@vulkanofnocturne]

@@salted6422 Must be Chinese buying up property.

[@weeboi6589]

Ireland is not a safe country, I lived in Limerick for 11 years and I was scared to leave that far away from my home, I was even jumped once for no reason by irish travellers, my friends who live there still say they fear the second gen immigrants who are aggressive and don't integrate. Female friends are scared to leave home because rapes happen and some even knew women who were assaulted by pakistani immigrant men. My father who still works as a delivery driver told me many stories of how both immigrants and Irish travellers tried to rob his truck. Limerick is a hot mess and is definitely not safe

[@bvanderford]

Nothing wrong living in a caravan in a field.

[@pippin9466]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="99">1:39</a> Ireland is not full it’s quite sparcly populated compared to other western European countries. They can just build new houses and cities

[@d.3521]

So should they continue this and double their population in the next decade or so?

[@pippin9466]

@@d.3521 yes but they should also create laws to stop investors from building houses and build more social housing

[@shanelynch7757]

The services for dealing with people are full beyond capacity - turning Ireland into Cairo or some other 3rd world shithole is not the answer - if that’s what you want go live there

[@Mike-h8m]

USA is bigger than entire Europe lmao.

[@christopherfleming7505]

Markets adjust according to supply and demand. If they are allowed to, construction companies will build whatever type of houses people want to buy. It's that simple. The whole problem is due to governments getting in the way, so don't suggest more regulation as the solution.

[@Zelazella1]

Dublin Ireland 🇮🇪

[@georgesand1160]

You could have told most of this with putting another country into the spotlight....the whole world is becoming a drama!

[@Ryzanu]

Thanks for actually covering the truth about immigration, if we said this we would be labelled "far right" which has now lost all meaning, housing is not even an issue it falls under the immigration issue. Solve that and you solve every other "crisis" we have, without mass immigration there would be enough housing...

[@EmeraldTech042]

The definition of far right is quite literally fascism, but then some people still have the nerve to call people racists for saying we can’t keep taking in all these immigrants. I agree that it’s overused as someone who would consider myself centre-left wing, it’s the same thing with far left as well

[@Wkumar07]

As of 2022 Ireland has a birth rate of 1.70. where are your new citizens going to come from?

[@EmeraldTech042]

@ Where are we going to house the sheer number of immigrants coming here?

[@Wkumar07]

@EmeraldTech042 why can't the Irish state invest in more housing development?

[@dahorn100011]

You've got Rayner here in the UK constantly opposing herself. One one hand, immigrants are welcome we have plenty of housing, on the other, Brits can't buy a home because there is no housing. They both can't be true, Reduce demand, prices stabilise.

[@Dara-wk5ty]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="79">1:19</a> These tents are soo pathetic because they're most often by African migrants U recently moved to Ireland

[@zakariah_altibi]

Do you remember "MIRKLE THINKS WE ARE WORKING"

[@cristianfamigliuolo]

Ha ha ha People watch the advert that says Ireland is a rich nation, the richest in Europe and then these things happen 😂😂 the ones who are struck by lightning are two people who make videos to be successful And they spread false information and the desperate people who believe it leave.

[@pranshukrishna5105]

Ireland has free healthcare, US does not, Didn't see a video on "Why living in US has become impossible"

[@NeauNurns]

Paying taxes for something that is hard to get is not "Free".

[@Wkumar07]

Europe can't escape its demographic crisis. The continent is facing a migrant crisis but the native population is shrinking. There is no easy answer.

[@Dara-wk5ty]

Developed english speaking countries are hit a bit harder but yeah

[@Wkumar07]

@Dara-wk5ty which makes sense because that is where a lot of the modern economic gravitational pull are located.

[@pippin9466]

The great replacement theory is bull 💩

[@Dara-wk5ty]

@@Wkumar07 Not quite migration relative to population size is much higher in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada and Australia than in the US

[@d.3521]

@@pippin9466 Its based on - Migration is natural Well not to this degree these days - Its legal/voluntarily By politicians - Race is a construct Not your own group

[@bearants]

Dont believe this explanation at all.

[@gustavpropovski9932]

Its a reupload

[@rabokarabekian409]

It's quite interesting that this housing and cost of living problem has rapidly worsened all over Earth. And in every nation, people want to go backwards and imagine that electing rightists will change the present by repeating the mistakes of the past. Ponder this: far from failing, Kapitalism is doing precisely what it is meant to do. Not to worry. You will own nothing and be happy. So vote early and vote often. "Who run Bartertown?"

[@CactusLegzz]

Ahh progressive politics. UTOPIA!!

[@christopherdamiano4233]

I wonder if implementing something like a 50% capital gains tax on all real estate with no exclusions (eg., no exclusion for primary residences etc) would help with the issue - turn housing back into a commodity as opposed to an investment vehicle. You would need an exclusion for new construction though to prevent de incentivizing building. It wouldn't be popular with current home owners but may be better for everyone in the long run...