Taoiseach admits to worrying about price of housing for his children

Micheál Martin said house prices are 'shockingly high for young couples'

Micheál Martin arrives at the polling station at St Anthony's BNS, Ballinlough with his son Micheál Jnr and wife Mary in May 2015. Picture: Larry Cummins

The Taoiseach has admitted he worries about the impact of the housing crisis on his own children.

Micheál Martin said the impact of the housing market on younger people, including his own children, was not lost on him. 

Home-ownership rates in Ireland have declined since the financial crash, with young people particularly affected. A recent ESRI study found just two-thirds of those currently aged 35 to 44 years are likely to own their home by the time they retire. That compares to 90% of those currently aged 65 or over, who own their homes.

Speaking to journalists as part of an extensive interview during his tour of Asia, Mr Martin said while he did not want to make the issue about his own family or experiences, he does "of course" worry about the ability of his children to buy homes.

"I don't want to personalise things, but I do of course. The price of houses is shockingly high for young couples. That's why we're bringing in new affordable schemes. I just saw the ones in Boherboy in Cork which are a very, very keen price. We just have to do it on a far greater scale."

The Taoiseach said he worries generally about the ability of young people to access housing in the places where they were born and in the country's cities.

"And I worry about younger people general, the capacity to live in cities that they're born in is becoming less and less of a possibility. That's not just an Irish phenomenon. It's a global phenomenon. 

But in Ireland, we always had that sense that if you got a job, you got work that over time you will be able to sustain a mortgage. The pricing and the percentage of income has to go. It is too high. 

"We need more supply. So we need to make sure that we have a consistent level of supply over the next 10 years."

Cheaper planning costs

Mr Martin said part of the Government response must be making the cost of planning cheaper for young couples who are looking to build on family land.

"That, and also that the projects that they wish to buy from, the housing projects, that they get up faster. And that the various pieces of infrastructure as well."

A CSO study in 2021 showed the average age of a first-time buyer was, on average, eight years older than they were in 2010. The median age for a sole purchaser increased from 34 years in 2010 to 42 in 2019, the CSO found. For joint purchasers, the median age rose three years, from 35 to 38.

The most recent figures from the CSO shows  residential property prices jumped 14.4% nationally in the 12 months to May this year. The median price of a home purchased in the 12 months to May 2022 was €290,000. 

The lowest median price for a house was €138,000 in Longford, while the highest median price was €601,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.