New study reveals half of young Irish workers have sacrificed buying food in order to afford rent

The new study shows 54% of those surveyed have gone hungry in order to afford rent or mortgage payments.

According to the results of a survey conducted by the Irish Congress Of Trade Unions ahead of the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) discussions between Government, union and employer representatives on housing, over 1,500 people under the age of 34 were asked questions about their current financial situations, and the results were incredibly depressing.

The six prime findings of the study are as follows:

ONE: Over half (54 per cent) of all young workers are struggling to cover their housing costs. One in every two have had to borrow or sacrifice another basic need, such as food, heating and transportation, in order to pay their rent or mortgage in the past year.Of those young workers struggling to make the rent, one in six (17 per cent) are unable to keep their head above water and are in to arrears.

TWO: Two in five (40 per cent) of all young workers are spending in excess of the 30 per cent rent-to-income ratio of housing affordability.One-quarter are spending between 41 and 50 per cent. The other quarter are spending above 51 per cent, which represents one in ten of all young workers spending more than half of their wages on housing. Half of these workers are spending between 31 and 40 per cent of their take-home pay on rent.

THREE: Almost half (46 per cent) of all young workers are dissatisfied that they are renters or that they remain living in their parents’ home. One in six (18%) are very dissatisfied with their current living arrangements.

FOUR: One-third (33 per cent) of all young workers are blighted by housing insecurity, with one in three having little or no confidence in being able to continue living in their current home for as long as they would wish.

FIVE: The vast majority (74 per cent) of young workers have little or no confidence in being able to buy a home in the future should they wish to.

SIX: Over eight in ten (84 per cent) of all young workers say housing will influence how they vote in the next election.

Congress Social Policy Officer, Dr Laura Bambrick, had the following to say on the results of the new study:

"This particular piece of research focused on the impact of the housing crisis on a generation of people who are sandwiched between high housing costs and low wages, to allow us take a detailed look behind snappy terms such as ‘generation rent’ and ‘delayed adulthood’."

Additionally, Congress General Secretary, Patricia King, also weighed in:

"The findings are worse than feared. Lives are being damaged and destroyed and a whole generation of young workers are now feeling alarming levels of frustration, insecurity and despondency with their housing situation. We are failing badly our young people."