When our homes are making us unwell, housing becomes a health issue
Around 15% of new childhood asthma cases in Europe are caused by indoor dampness.
For too many people in Ireland, home isn’t a place of safety and rest. It’s a place that makes them sick.
Our housing and our health are inextricably linked.
Around 450,000 people in Ireland have asthma, and half of them show signs that their disease is not controlled. While medications and lifestyle play a critical role in staying well with asthma, our living conditions can exacerbate and even cause respiratory disease.
Time and again, we speak to people who are doing everything within their control to manage their condition. They use their inhalers correctly, follow medical advice, and avoid known triggers. Yet, they still struggle to manage their symptoms, leaving doctors to consider factors outside of their control — such as poor air quality, damp, cold air, and mould in their homes.
According to the World Health Organisation, 15% of new childhood asthma cases in Europe are caused by indoor dampness.
Realistically, most people in Ireland can’t just move house. Nor can they afford to carry out expensive upgrades or repairs.
Indeed, it is lower income households — where asthma is most prevalent — who are most at risk of energy poverty and substandard accommodation.
A recent study of respiratory health among residents in the Oliver Bond House in Dublin’s south inner city, one of Ireland’s largest local authority housing estates, showed they were up to 2.4 times more likely to have asthma than others attending the same GP practice. Why? Well, more than 80% of residents reported damp or mould in their homes, nearly three-quarters cited poor insulation or draughts, and 45% had been told by a doctor that their housing conditions were harming their health.
Surely, for those of us fortunate enough to have a home in Ireland, we should at least expect to feel safe in it.
In 2016, an innovative government pilot programme called the Warmth and Wellbeing Scheme offered free energy upgrades to people with chronic respiratory conditions in low-income homes. The results were striking — fewer hospital visits, fewer prescriptions for antibiotics, improved symptoms, and better quality of life. The scheme was life-changing for those who took part.
Today, that scheme has been folded into the Warmer Homes Scheme — a broader and valuable programme, but one that no longer specifically targets people with chronic respiratory illness.
In Budget 2026, the Asthma Society is calling on the Government to reinvest in this space. We’re recommending an additional €29m to retrofit 1,000 homes of people with chronic lung disease who are at risk of energy poverty; and €500,000 for a targeted communications campaign to increase uptake among social welfare recipients living with respiratory illness.
This is a cross-departmental issue, which can add complexity and make action difficult, but certainly is not impossible. Budget 2026 is a chance to take a meaningful — and demonstrably effective step forward.
We’re also calling for measures to improve affordability of asthma medications, increase access to specialist care, and enhance supports for people with severe asthma in October.
This is the first budget from this new Government. It's an opportunity to show leadership by supporting a healthy population and healthy housing. We urge them to take it.
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