Sadhbh Hannon O’Connor, 25, is planning on moving to Spain to seek a better quality of life. She will be joining the mass exodus of young people that has been moving out of Ireland, and an increasingly expensive Galway. 

A huge factor for Sadhbh’s departure: housing. “You can rent a whole apartment for the same price that you could rent a room here,” she said.

Galway is now the second most expensive city to rent in Ireland, according to a new Daft.ie report published at the end of February. Rental prices in Galway City have risen by 11.3 per cent in the last year.

Sadhbh is, by far, not the only one. 75 per cent of those aged under 25 years old consider leaving Ireland because of the housing crisis, an Extra.ie poll found last year. And 55 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 feel the same. The CSO reported that more than half of Irish emigrants were aged between 25 and 44 years.

Supply, demand, and consequences

Galway City Councillor Níall McNelis sees the big discrepancy between supply and demand as a driving factor for the rising rental prices in Galway.

“The issue with Galway is that we’re very much a very successful town in business at the moment,” he said, “with a young population that’s renting, with a very young student population in the city and then we’ve got a huge amount of tourists to visit the city.”

All of these factors create a shortage of property, resulting in prices going up. With tourist accommodations, an increase in around 600 short-term rentals in the city that have “no planning” and “no regulation” has been a big issue, said Cllr McNelis.

Time is the problem

“Money’s not the problem. It’s time”, said Cllr McNelis. “It takes time to actually build a house.”

The construction is not the only part that takes time, however. Despite the huge demand for housing, there’s been “such a lack of development”, said Cllr McNelis. Planning processes are slower due to Galway City being a “special area of conservation”. 

The 12 social housing units on Merchants Road that Galway City Council submitted a project plan for in February 2022 are examples of this. Two years later, the plan remains just that: a project. “An Board Pleanála have held it up now for two and a half years and haven’t even looked at it,” Cllr McNelis said.

Out of the city – a solution?

Sadhbh moved back in with her parents in order to save money. “I tried to save money while I was living in town, and it’s just not possible, paying that much for rent and trying to save money.” 

She said moving home was a “huge relief” financially. However, living in rural Galway comes with its own set of complications. 

After she finishes work, she has to wait an hour for her bus home – if the bus is not late or comes at all. Commuting on unreliable and expensive bus services is adding an additional five hours to her day. “I’m always at risk for being late for work; sometimes the bus doesn’t even show up,” she said. “Sometimes even if you have yourself booked a seat on the bus, you won’t get a seat and you can’t get on the bus.” If she can’t get on the bus, she has to ask for a lift, always depending on other people. 

Cllr McNelis said towns and villages in rural areas have “loads of empty units” that could be developed and “reinvigorate those little towns at the same time”. However, poor road networks and lack of services kept people from moving into more rural areas. Cllr McNelis posed the question: “Why would you like to commute from Roscommon to Galway when there is no bus service?”

Impacts on mental health

All of this doesn’t seem revolutionary. The housing crisis has been reported on, and talked about, for years. Housing is now the greatest concern of Irish citizens: In the EU’s Standard Eurobarometer survey 2023, 61 per cent of Ireland cited housing as one of the two most important issues facing the country. In comparison, the EU average for the same answer was only 10 per cent.

These numbers are not just numbers. Insecure housing affects all aspects of life, Cllr McNelis said. “If somebody doesn’t have a home or a house or a roof over their head, it’s very difficult then to look at all of those other things such as a stable job, stable income, and actually having a good mental health as well.”

Sadhbh has witnessed this impact firsthand. “I felt a lot of stress trying to just survive day to day,” she said. The general increase in cost of living as well as having to pay off student loans made the stress “all-encompassing”.

Missing investments for Galway

While rent in Galway has risen 11.3 per cent, Dublin only saw an increase of 2.6 per cent in 2023. The reason is the investments that the government has made. According to the Daft.ie report, an average of 175 apartments were built in Dublin per week. 

Galway, unfortunately, ends up empty-handed. Investments need to be made outside of the capital, according to Cllr McNelis. “We’re a city that needs funding, and we’re not being properly funded by the government,” he said. Not only funding for housing, but staff as well, he added.

Cllr McNelis is afraid of other cascading effects resulting from the crisis, like immigrants being blamed for housing issues rather than the Government, which is an increasingly prevalent ideology in Ireland.

“My fear is that we’re going into elections at the moment where people are going to start blaming immigrants,” he said. “Nobody of colour started this housing mess.”