We are now entering Groundhog Day again where in the coming weeks we will see students scramble for accommodation which is now the most stressful part of going to college, with many having to choose courses primarily based on where they can live or commute. We don’t need a crystal ball to see how it all plays out because it is the same, only worse, each year. 

Accommodation scams are also at an all-time high with 14% of international students experiencing a scam in 2022. There are also increasing reports of predators seeking sex instead of rent and urgent legislation is required to address this.

Lifting the eviction ban was tone-deaf and a kick in the teeth for renters — it will surely stick-out as policy decision that went very wrong for the current government. New figures released by the RTB show that there were 5,735 eviction notices issued to tenants in the second quarter of this year, almost 1,000 more than the first quarter.

Many of my own generation, those of us born after 1985, will never have the opportunity to own a home. Rising rents and the cost of living are trapping so many of us and making it impossible to save for a deposit. Others who have mortgages are worried by the high interest rates which have now risen beyond 4%. 

But the problem is that if we can’t get on the property ladder in the first place, in time to pay off a mortgage before we retire, then we will be unable to afford high rents when we do retire. This is a ticking time bomb and poverty for pensioners is already a reality for many in Ireland.

We have almost full employment and many of my generation have good incomes and better job opportunities compared to our parents’ generation. But there is also a cost-of-living crisis while large transfers of wealth are taking place between younger generations and older generations in terms of rent.

We simply cannot continue on the current path. Two thirds of people on waiting lists for social housing have to wait over two years. The building of social housing has not met the demand in decades — with most people forced into the private rental sector. Many young adults are being forced to move back in with their parents, if they have that option.

Taking Cork as an example, 532 women and men were depending on emergency accommodation in Cork in June 2023 — the highest on record. Those looking for a single room to rent in a house share in Cork city centre have seen an 18% increase in rent prices since last year. 

There were 196 children in homeless accommodation in Cork and Kerry combined in June 2023 (a 35% increase in 12 months). These figures don’t reflect the full scale of the homeless crisis. People rough sleeping, those in squats, parents and children in refuges, those in direct provision and people staying with family or friends are not counted.

In Cork alone, there were 700 derelict houses identified within a 2km radius of the city in 2021 by campaigners Frank O’Connor and Jude Sherry, but only 95 were reported by the council. The €11m allocated to Cork City Council to refurbish derelict properties is only a drop in the ocean for what will be needed, but it’s a good start.

The eviction ban should be re-instated and Labour’s renters’ rights bill implemented to ease anxiety for renters. A deposit protection scheme must be introduced and an NCT for rentals which would enforce standards. The whole country should be treated as a rent pressure zone. 

Most importantly, supply is not meeting demand — there needs to be a large-scale building of affordable homes across the state.

The housing crisis won’t be solved overnight and successive government decisions and poor planning have led to this point. We saw during the pandemic how quickly action can be taken and what can be achieved — the same approach is needed by the Government in order to tackle this crisis.

Over 81 countries worldwide have enshrined a legal right to housing in their laws or in their constitution including Belgium, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, Austria and France. It’s time for Ireland to do the same.

As the local elections and a general election approaches, anyone who is concerned about solving this crisis needs to make housing an election issue when the candidates come knocking and when casting their votes.

• Laura Harmon is Executive Director of the Irish Council for International Students and a member of the board of Threshold. She is also a member of the Labour Party. This article was written in a personal capacity.