Poll after poll reveals that the housing crisis is among the main concerns of voters in the forthcoming general election, with many voters basing their first-preference intentions on the various parties’ policies on the issue.
Among the viewers of property in Ringsend recently was Aoife Gorman, a first-time buyer who feels increasingly unsure of who to vote for because of the housing crisis.
Looking at houses in the Dublin area for about a year now, she felt whoever forms the next government should “create more supports for people trying to buy by themselves”.
“A lot of supports are for new builds and most of the new builds are very expensive for someone on their own. My budget would rule out new builds, and so would where they’re located,” she said, referring to the fact most new properties are being built far from the city centre.
Housing supports are generally more often targeted towards families, she said.
“I haven’t decided yet who I’m going to vote for but housing is definitely one of the main issues,” Gorman added.
Elisa Duncan Cullen is a “single first-time buyer” who says she is “very lucky to be mortgage approved”.
She plans to vote for the Social Democrats because of their housing policies.
“I don’t believe either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael have the expertise or desire to truly tackle the housing crisis,” she said. She notes that supply “is incredibly limited in my price range and areas”.
Duncan Cullen, who has been renting for 15 years, says she has seen thousands of buy-to-lets built in Dublin the past number of years alongside hotels.
“Something drastic needs to be done about buy-to-lets and Airbnbs in the city. Trying to rent is an absolute nightmare, I’m very lucky to be where I am now,” she continued, but pointed out that “luck shouldn’t be associated with having a home, either rental or purchase”.
Jessica, who lives in Co Wicklow and preferred not to publicise her surname, said she and her partner were relying on the Help to Buy Scheme to buy a house and this was influencing their voting decisions.
“We’ve lived at her parents’ house for 14 months to save. We’re in a position now to buy but it’s very much helped by the scheme,” she said.
The couple have put a deposit down on a new build that has yet to be built, and they’re relying on the scheme being operational to buy their home.
“It’s just this one scheme in particular that I suppose a lot of our plans depend on,” she said. “There are issues with the scheme and I feel like it’s a band-aid solution, but sometimes you need band-aids”.
Jessica was a renter for 10 years and “would support the left-wing parties’ policies” such as rent freezes.
“I know there’s lots of other issues in housing, and ultimately I would like to see a change, so I’ll probably still vote Social Democrats even though it’s voting against my interests.”
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