Highlights from the RTE Article.
For those who haven’t read the recent RTÉ piece (Reducing Immigration Unlikely to Help Housing Crisis, 30 August 2025), here are the key takeaways:
- Population Growth – Ireland’s population has reached 5.46 million, growing faster than the CSO’s “high growth” scenario. In the year to April 2025, net migration added nearly 60,000 people, while natural increase (births minus deaths) added another 20,000. That is 80,000 people in 4 months.
- Housing Deficit – The State’s Housing Commission estimates that at least 250,000 more homes are needed right away. The gap widened by about 100,000 in the past decade alone.
- Household Size – Demographers estimate an average of 2.2 people per household in the future. This means every 80,000 extra people require about 36,000 homes annually.
Government Response.
- Minister for Housing James Browne has proposed loosening rental caps and relaxing apartment standards to attract foreign investors after a 24% drop in output last year.
- Both measures may help finance construction but carry risks for tenants and quality of housing.
Immigration Debate: Some argue cutting immigration would ease housing demand. But:
- About 20% of construction workers are migrants, so reducing immigration would also cut supply.
- Immigrants often rent build-to-rent apartments, so fewer migrants could dampen investor appetite for these developments.
- Dr Michael Byrne (UCD) argues reduced immigration would only have a small effect on affordability or availability, while damaging sectors like health and social care that rely heavily on migrant labour.
Observations from an Outsider’s View.
Reading this a migrant from Central Africa, I see both familiar patterns and striking cultural differences. Here are a few reflections that stood out to me.
1. Household Size: The 2.2-Person Home.
The figure of 2.2 people per household fascinated me. In Ireland, families are smaller, young adults move out earlier, and living alone is more common. In fact, I live by myself right now. This is seen as normal in Western societies, but from my background, living alone in a space bigger than a 1-room flat feels almost extravagant.
In my culture, it is common for 3 generations to share the same space. Not only does this conserve housing, but it also spreads the cost of living and strengthens community bonds. Now, I’m not saying this arrangement is perfect, it’s just an observation.
By contrast, in Ireland and much of Europe, rising individualism means homes are occupied by fewer people:
- Elderly parents often live separately from adult children.
- Young professionals increasingly live alone (like myself) or as couples without children.
- Divorce, delayed marriage, and smaller families all reduce household size.
The result is a kind of paradox – even with a smaller population than in the past, Ireland needs more homes now than ever before. Each person wants more private space, privacy, and autonomy. While these are all very legitimate expectations, they still drive demand upward faster than population growth alone.
2. History – Ireland Before the Great Famine.
Another striking thought – Ireland once had 8 million people in the 1840s before the famine, compared to just over 5 million today. Clearly, there were far fewer homes back then, and living conditions were entirely different.
- Families lived in small cottages, often in one or two rooms, sometimes sharing space with livestock.
- Rural poverty meant that overcrowding was common, and not a choice.
- Standards of comfort were far lower, and the tragedy of the great famine itself contributed to shattering multi-generational households – as millions died and millions more were forced to separate and seek greener pastures elsewhere.
This comparison isn’t meant to romanticise the past.
I am only trying to highlight the extent to which history might have played its part, and how much expectations have changed since WW2. A long time ago, one-room cottages were once enough. But with history possibly having an impact on multi-generational living, as well as increased standards of living over time, people now expect modern homes with separate bedrooms, living rooms, bathrooms, and amenities.
The dignity of those standards is non-negotiable. But I believe it also explains why housing is structurally harder to provide now than maybe 100 years ago.
3. Migrants as Builders, Not Just Tenants
The RTE article pointed out that 20% of Ireland’s construction workforce are migrants. I cannot verify this, but I don’t think it’s that hard to agree.
In political debates, immigration is often portrayed as adding to housing demand – which is a simple fact. But migrants are not just tenants, they are also builders. Many of the homes Ireland needs depend on migrant labour.
Cutting immigration would therefore be counterproductive: it might reduce demand slightly, but it would also shrink the labour force needed to expand supply. The housing crisis is likely to deepen, not ease.
This is a reminder that migration is part of the solution as well as the challenge. Ireland, like many developed countries, faces labour shortages in key sectors. Migrants fill those gaps, be they in construction, health, or social care.
4. From State Housing to Private Partnerships.
Another observation is how much Ireland (and much of Europe) now depends on the private sector to deliver social and affordable housing.
After World War II, governments across Europe directly built housing stock at scale, much of it state-owned. These programmes provided secure, affordable homes for generations. They also stabilised rents by taking large numbers of households out of the speculative market.
But from the 80s onwards, housing largely became privatised. Social housing delivery today in Ireland is largely outsourced to:
- Public–private partnerships.
- Real estate investment trusts and other institutional investors that focus on build-to-rent apartments.
This dependence on private capital forces governments to relax or reduce housing standards just to keep profit-first investors interested. These trade-offs may deliver more ‘luxury units’, but they are sill neither affordable nor easily accessible.
From an outsider’s perspective, this shift is deeply tragic. There was a working system 50 years ago where housing was recognised as both a necessity and a public good, at a national level! For me, that is hard to fathom.
But now, governments worldwide continue to surrender autonomy to corporations, the ultra-rich & powerful individuals whose only interest is more control; at the expense of the average person.
This is a deeply moral issue that is not unique to Ireland alone, and a blog post is not nearly enough to cover this conversation.
My View on Western Individualism and the Housing Situation.
Earlier in this post, I briefly mentioned individualism as a possible reason why many homes in Ireland are occupied by fewer people. But I wanted to expand my thoughts on this.
In my view, individualism in Western societies has transformed lives in incredible ways. On the positive side, it has delivered –
- Greater autonomy and freedom of choice. Adults can live independently, pursue careers, choose whether or not to marry, and shape their lives outside rigid family or community structures. In my case, individualism strongly encouraged my desire for innovation and self-expression. For better or for worse, it allowed me to create a path I desired for myself first, and for others second.
- Young adults don’t have to live indefinitely with their parents, and therefore enjoy more agency and privacy.
- Elderly people are not forced into dependency. This is because individualism and western housing norms allow them to maintain autonomy in their own homes. This is also supported by pensions, healthcare, and social services instead of relying entirely on children or extended family – as is the case with many Central African cultures.
But every yin has its yang.
- Individualism clearly leads to much smaller households, and weaker community ties that leave people more isolated. Research consistently shows that loneliness is rising in the West.
- In the UK, the Office for National Statistics estimated that over 1.4 million older people are often lonely, especially those over 65 (King’s College).
- Individualism weakens the intergenerational pooling of resources that can make housing more affordable in other cultures.
- More households mean more homes must be built, even if the population is stable.
This is NOT to say Ireland should abandon its norms and adopt patterns of communal living.
What works for A does not necessarily work for B. We need to understand that culture is deeply spiritual and complex, and that many aspects outside of our control also affect culture in complex ways, ie. history, geography, religion and more.
However, even for the sake of conversation, I believe that the impact of Irish cultural expectations on housing demand today is worth considering.
Modular Housing – A Small but Vital Part of the Solution.
The RTE article rightly focuses on demographics, planning, and immigration.
But in the bigger picture, Ireland’s housing supply problem requires new methods of building.
This is where modular housing has a role.
- Faster delivery – Homes can be built in factories and assembled on-site in weeks, not years.
- Lower costs – Standardised production cuts waste and reduces labour needs.
- Sustainability – Energy-efficient designs align with Ireland’s climate goals.
- Flexibility – Modular units can be tailored to families, singles, or shared accommodation.
Modular homes won’t solve everything; land, planning, and financing remain bottlenecks. But they can help bridge the gap between policy intentions and housing delivery, especially for cost rental and social housing schemes. Read more HERE.
