My Budget: ‘No help at all’ for Dublin renters

When Adonis Moreira (29) moved to Dublin six years ago he paid €290 in rent for a single bedroom, now he and his girlfriend are paying €1,700 a month for an apartment.

Originally from Brazil Adonis works in an IT company while his girlfriend Eimear works in procurement. The couple rent a two-bed apartment in Lucan, south west Dublin.

The cost of rent is “high but it was the cheapest we could find,” he says. The pair are looking to buy a house in Ireland, but the high cost of rent makes trying to save for a mortgage “really hard,” he says.

With Budget 2020 to be announced on Tuesday, Adonis says there is "no help at all" for ordinary workers renting in Dublin.

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"The rent won't go down it seems, the Government are only helping the big companies like Google to build buildings for their workers," he said.

The couple are looking to buy a house in areas like Newbridge or Naas, and then commute into work, as property prices in Dublin are "too expensive," Adonis says.

The Government has made commitments that measures to help tackle climate change would be made in the Budget on Tuesday, with expected increases in carbon taxes.

But the high cost of rent and property in Dublin will push more people further outside the city, leading to more cars on the road commuting long distances into work, Adonis said. “It’s working in opposite directions,” he said.

“We’re going to be driving in, the public transport in isn’t good from those areas,” he said, acknowledging that was not good for the environment.

While the requirement to save a deposit was one “barrier” to buying a home, the real problem was rising property prices, he said. “The deposit is only a percentage of the price, it’s the price that is the problem,” he said.

One Budget measure he would like to see would be a tax relief for renters, but one that would not allow landlords to simultaneously raise rents and pocket the saving themselves, he said.