Ronan Lyons

Of the 100,000 rental homes planned, no more than 40% will ever come to fruition. Yet, the focus of the government efforts, and its money, is pivoting to blanket tax credits in the hope it will keep landlords in the market – even though there is a lack of data to know why they are leaving.

New data gives empirical validity – if it were needed – to the political anger felt by Ireland’s younger cohorts. Ireland has gone from on a par with Germany to having more than twice as many adults living with their parents in just a decade.

For Dublin as a whole, open-market rents in the second quarter were just 0.9% higher than they were at the end of 2022, compared to an increase of 5.7% seen outside Dublin, on average, and even bigger increases seen in the north-west.

A recent conference at Trinity College Dublin disproved President Michael D Higgins's portrayal of economics as a field dominated by a "hegemonic discourse".

Surpassing the government’s target of 33,000 – as seems possible by 2025 – will be far from sufficient. Realistically, the country needs to be building at least 45,000 homes per year and probably closer to 60,000 homes per year for decades.

The pandemic understandably squeezed the number of second-hand homes listed for sale. But why has the market not recovered since?

When we observe the yield on housing rising, some might be tempted to see that as evidence of a tilt in power away from labour and towards capital. But instead, it is a reflection of a housing system – and in particular a rental system – that is short on supply.

In the last few months yields have reached a three-decade high. While the sale segment finds some semblance of balance, the rental segment continues to struggle.

Whether policymakers know it or not, trying to minimise vacancy is trying to bring about a system that puts housing before people. If it came to it, which would we rather have: people with homes, or homes without people?

In its parallels and its obvious differences, Mongolia can help Ireland understand itself better - particularly when it comes to building public infrastructure and housing.