Those aged between 25 and 32 feel they cannot get to a point where they can purchase or build a house
Young boys and girls are leaving our shores to go to Australia simply because they cannot buy or build a house in this country no matter how good a job they have.
That was the downbeat message Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae had for the Dáil and he stressed that the emigration crisis was escalating.
“I attended an event in Barraduff a couple of weeks ago for 10 local youngsters who are departing our shores. Some of them have already gone and the rest will be gone before Christmas,” he said.
“In other words, they won’t sitting at their parents’ table for their Christmas dinner this year. I am hurt by that.
He said the young people have been educated to the highest standards and persevered through long days and nights in colleges in Cork, Galway, Dublin and Limerick and their parents helped financially to put them through school.
“They are now caught because those aged between 25 and 32 feel they cannot get to a point where they can purchase or build a house.
“Houses in Killarney cost between €450,000 and €650,000. That is too much and people cannot get a mortgage for such houses. That is why they are departing,” Deputy Healy-Rae said.
Deputy Danny Healy-Rae: Young people are leaving our shores
He added that they cannot get planning permission and, in that respect, Kerry is unusual in that on about 100km of national primary and secondary routes people are not allowed to exit from their own land due to restrictions on those routes.
“A strict rule about urban-generated pressure was imposed on us by the planning regulator. It was intended to prevent people coming to the country from towns in order to build houses for themselves.
“Not only is it stopping such people but it is also stopping people who are local to those sites, including those with a site close to their parents’ house,” he said.
In response to the Kerry TD, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, said he was conscious that many young people emigrate from Ireland and go to Australia.
Minister Jim O’Callaghan: People are retuning home in big numbers
“I would advise that when they get to Australia they will find there is a similar housing issue there. Accommodation costs and the price of housing in Australia are exceptionally high,” he said.
Minister O’Callaghan said the good news is that people are returning to Ireland.
“People may go to Australia for a number of years to train in the work they do and for enjoyment. In general, a lot of them come back. We have seen that in the recent CSO statistics.
“Although many thousands leave Ireland each year, similar amounts return having spent a number of years away. Part of the reason for that is that they enjoy the quality of life in Ireland,” he stated.
The minister stressed that the government has tried to introduce many measures to facilitate the young people, including cost rental and affordable housing and the help to buy scheme which is specifically designed to encourage people who believe that a home may be out of their reach.
“I also want the Deputy to be aware that 5,400 single one-off houses were approved for planning permission in 2024. I am conscious that the demands on the housing system are significant and severe but the supply is increasing as time progresses,” Minister O’Callaghan stated.
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