IT LOOKS LIKE we will have the date for the next general election any day now, which is very exciting because how many times have we asked the government to fix the housing crisis or the cost-of-living crisis, and been flat-out ignored?

The recent budget measures felt like a last-ditch attempt to earn some brownie points, but none of the real issues have been addressed. We have a double child benefit payment coming in November and December, and while it is great, and very much needed, it’s also a drop in the ocean for many families.

The ’ocean’ for families, is the lack of security in housing, and the rising costs of food and utilities. These are our basic needs; food, shelter and warmth, and they aren’t being met. We have record levels of homelessness. There have been seven months so far this year where we have surpassed previous record levels.

At the end of August, 4401 homeless children packed their school bags from emergency accommodation. Those children went back to hotel rooms to do their homework on their laps, and to sit in a public room to have their dinner with hundreds of other homeless people. Every single one of those 4401 children is growing up without their basic needs being met, they have no home. It is absolutely unforgivable.

There are families where both parents work, who don’t qualify for any welfare payments, and who got nothing from the recent budget except the tiniest increase in their tax band. These families are paying staggering rent, utility and childcare costs each month, without any end in sight. There are families who are struggling to put the heating on, while the energy companies report their own record-breaking profits. How is that allowed?

Massive challenges in Ireland

There are families facing homelessness ahead of Christmas, who don’t have anywhere to move to because there are no houses available, and all emergency accommodation services are beyond full. There are families facing homelessness despite both parents working full time because rent is so extortionately high because entire housing estates were sold to foreign investors.

So, yes, the double child benefit payments will help. They are very much needed. But let’s keep it in perspective, it’s a drop in the ocean and things shouldn’t have ever gotten to this point.

The budget was comprised of short-term, and largely inadequate, fixes. Rent Tax Credit was increased to €1,000 per calendar year which is less than half a month’s rent for most people. Again, the money is very much needed but it’s another temporary plaster. If we can acknowledge that the payment is needed, shouldn’t we take some steps to fix the issue? We need proper legislation for reasonable rent prices, and much more security for renters. We also need many more properties on the rental market.

The legislation for vacant properties has too many loopholes. Before it was introduced it was thought it would impact 60,000 properties, but the exemptions meant it only applied to under 4,000. So, while the budget has increased the tax on vacant properties, it only impacts a tiny fraction. Imagine the impact on families if the other 56,000 properties were put on the rental or sale market.

€303 million has been allocated for homeless services in 2025, how is it easier to do this than to just build houses and stop selling them to foreign investment funds? How is it easier to give renters back credit rather than effective legislation to stop extortionate prices?

Thinking outside the box

And look, I know, we can’t just wave a magic wand and make the housing crisis disappear. But what are we doing to try and fix it? Can we try anything instead of just watching it unfold? The government did manage to deliver 500 modular homes for Ukrainian refugees this year in an absolute shambles of a situation where they ended up costing over twice as much as anticipated.

That ended up being another ‘silly government’ story, like the bike shed and the 9 million on phone pouches (when there wasn’t a single school in Ireland that allowed phones in the first place), but by all means, house the phones and the bikes before the people.

It is so frustrating to watch the people who promised to fight for our best interests if elected, pretend to not hear us once elected. It’s also very frustrating to see such large amounts of money being thrown around so carelessly when families are trying to decide between putting food on the table or heating the house.

It’s hard to watch young professionals continue to leave the country in their droves, because they are offered much better standards of living elsewhere, and it’s hard to think about how hard it will be for our own kids to buy further down the line, all while our government bluster their way through another silly blunder. It’s just not good enough.

House prices rose 10% in the first 8 months of this year alone. That is the target for a first-time buyer’s deposit. How many families have been working hard for years, only for their deposit price to double? We were in this situation last year and it is soul-destroying to see house prices rise faster than your savings, as you hope that your landlord won’t hike up the rent or move you on, because it was absolutely devastating to uproot the kids last time. You start to feel like you will never get ahead in this country.

And as someone who went into Aldi this week for milk and ended up spending an additional €76 on Halloween-themed junk, I completely understand the need for frivolous spending now and again. Let them have their bike shed. But if you have a family with one or both parents working and paying tax, they should, at the very least, have a secure home, with the ability to put food on the table and heat the place. They should be guaranteed a place in the local school, and they should be able to make doctor and dentist visits as required. This is the bare minimum.

We have never had a time when our feedback is so easily accessible by those in government. There are so many forums for people to voice their opinions. People are open about their struggles, about what we want and need, and even offering solutions. But the one platform that counts is the ballot on whatever date we go to the polls. That day, we need to assess what matters most to us and vote accordingly. Taoiseach Simon Harris, we’re waiting for your announcement… 

Margaret Lynch is a mother of two living in Kildare.