The Housing Crisis

Ireland’s housing crisis is at boiling point, with homelessness at record levels and even well-paid people struggling to afford soaring rents and house prices. It’s the political issue everyone is talking about — but it’s one with a long and dramatic history. Tim Mc Inerney and Naomi O’Leary trace the backstory to how an agrarian revolt turned Ireland into a kind of property-based welfare state. Guest reporter Molly May O’Leary visits an ‘occupation training’ session by Take Back the City, the activists who are grabbing headlines by seizing empty buildings in Dublin and demanding they be turned into social housing. How did Ireland go from the excesses of the Celtic Tiger property boom, to bust and back again? And what does diaspora minister Ciaran Cannon say about the impact on those hoping to move home? Hear the whole story in this episode. Featuring insights from University College Dublin Professor Michelle Norris, University College Cork Professor Cathal O’Connell, and Lorcan Sirr, who’s senior lecturer of housing at the Dublin Institute of Technology. For bonus episodes, support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/theirishpassport. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook: @PassportIrish. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.theirishpassport.com/transcript-the-housing-crisis/ Support this podcast