Low Unemployment Rate not Translating to Better Living Standards

Ireland’s unemployment rate has reached all-time lows and people are not able to experience the benefits. Rising house prices are increasing faster than the raise in wages causing bad living standards for many people. The Central Statistics Office posted an unemployment rate at 4.5% last month. Despite this low number, ICTU President Sheila Nunan is still worried about different groups of people that are affected. She mentioned additional problems like youth joblessness, skills shortages, and low employment levels for women as factors that need to be addressed.

Rent has risen approximately 8% in the last year while wage hikes have averaged about 3% over the same period. Many people are calling for wage hikes to be implemented to allow people to afford rising costs in the housing markets. Rent costs contribute to more than half of minimum living costs in Dublin.

The living wage refers to the wage that people need to earn to be able to afford the minimum basket of goods and services. Few employees have used that number as the starting salary for their employees and instead …

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Talking property with the Irish Times

Hugh Linehan of the Irish times had TD for Galway West Derek Nolan, Fintan MacNamara from the Residential Landlords Association and Karl from this parish.

The conversation was a fascinating one because it isn’t too often that you get to have an extended conversation with people who are involved in politics and the property business without it devolving into argument. Hugh Linehan did an excellent job of facilitating this format and we are looking forward to hearing more on the topic, kudos to the Irish Times for a job well done.

 

 

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Rent control, a misguided policy that just won’t go away

The idea of rent control is always a compelling one, that by decree you simply say ‘the price can’t rise’ and then it doesn’t. That this is a proven myth rarely factors in, take cities in the USA with rent control and you’ll also see that these same cities have some of the highest rents (like San Francisco and New York) because all rent control does is confer a transfer onto the incumbent renters.

When it happens for long enough you eventually get a disproportionate cost being carried by some cohorts who become structurally less well off because they face vastly different cost bases in rents even though they may earn an identical wage to their neighbour. It’s no wonder there was even a Mayoral Candidate in New York who’s party was named ‘Rent is too damn high!‘. Check out his debating style which is memorable if nothing else.

If housing cost control was a good idea then why not enforce …

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