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21st October 2025
05:15pm BST
At 31, I've now reached a point of hopelessness when it comes to owning a house in Ireland.
It is something that now feels as far-fetched as winning the lotto, an overly hopeful milestone that will likely never happen.
Like many of my peers, I am still living at home. And although it is something that makes me feel more disheartened than embarrassed these days, it is something that is so common in Ireland.
Recent findings by the CSO confirmed that nearly 70% of 25-year-olds were living at home, and that is largely down to the cost of housing in Ireland.
A recent post in the r/RentingInDublin Reddit thread reminded me of just how bad things have gotten.
One person shared a photo of people queuing to view a studio bunker in Rathmines. A studio bunker that costs €1450 per month.
The poster wrote, "Rathmines viewing this morning for a bunker search at 1450 euros."
Everything about this situation should shock me, but it doesn't. The cost of the 'studio bunker', the sheer number of people forced to queue just to get a glimpse at it, and the total lack of hope we all have are nothing new.
It's a feeling my generation has been forced to accept because the housing crisis isn't going to end soon.
One person replied, "I had a studio in Rathmines for 500 in the early 2010s."
Imagine being able to rent somewhere in Dublin for €500; it seems like such an alien option nowadays. We scroll through ads for 'homes' where your bed is in the kitchen or the bedroom you're spending half your wages on is shared with a total stranger.
The housing crisis is something that feels like a permanent issue Ireland will never get over, and that's mainly down to the Government's total lack of urgency to amend it.
Rents up 6.9% nationally, on 2024, forcing more into emigration, poverty and homelessness.
— Peter Dooley (@PeterDooleyDUB) August 25, 2025
Courtesy of successive Government deliberate decisions and the greed of unscrupulous landlords this "studio" flat in Rathmines, that advertises two double (pull-out) beds is €1,900pm. pic.twitter.com/Tpx4mfsKtD
But why would they when over 30 politicians in the Dáil are landlords?
There's so much hopelessness surrounding the housing crisis in Ireland that the thought of it ever ending feels surreal.
I used to dream of owning a house when I was a little kid. I'd draw photos of my dream house and bring them home to the house my parents easily bought in the 1990s.
Those drawings would be proudly displayed on the fridge in our kitchen, the kitchen I'm currently sitting in.
There is no shame in living at home in Ireland, but it isn't something that should be the norm. We should be able to have our own homes, our own kitchens, where our future kids will hang up their artwork.
Why should we have to accept that our future will consist of living in our childhood bedrooms, queueing for overpriced and cramped 'studio-bunkers', and watching all of our friends leave the place we call home?
Our Government doesn't seem willing to fix the mess we're in, but the generations above us remain hopeful.
Our parents and the generations ahead of them will tell us things will change, but when will they? Next year? In five years time? When we move to London or Australia, like the rest of our peers?
