Housing crisis harming lone parent families the most

Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Sean Crowe has said that lone parent families are most likely to be trapped in poor quality rental accommodation and unable to escape because the housing market is so unaffordable.

The latest report from the ESRI ‘Monitoring Adequate Housing in Ireland’ shows that lone parent families are disproportionally represented among the homeless and hidden homeless population.

Teachta Crowe said:

“The ESRI has issued a report ‘Monitoring Adequate Housing in Ireland’ that lays bare the dire situation that lone parents face trying to find a home and keep a roof over their children’s heads.

“Less than 25% of lone parents reported owning a home compared to over 70% of the total population. This means that many lone parents are trapped in a rental market where prices only ever go up and where quality and supply only goes down.

“Lone parents are more likely to struggle to afford rent and experience poor living conditions. By ignoring the housing crisis facing Ireland for so long, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have created a market that traps lone parents and their children in poor quality accommodation by making it so unaffordable for them to move out and find somewhere more suitable to live.

“As a result, lone parents are disproportionally represented among the homeless and hidden homeless population. Too many are forced to seek homeless supports or sofa surf with their children among friends and family as they try to find somewhere to live.

“The housing situation in Ireland is completely dysfunctional. Sinn Féin have committed to building social and affordable housing, implementing rent controls, and a range of other measures that would stabilise and regularise the housing market so that no one is trapped in a rental market that drains every cent they have.

“We have seen the results of governments failing to act when it comes to solving the housing crisis. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had their chance to act and let it pass them by so that landlords and developers could prosper at the expense of the Irish people.”