Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 1 October 2025

Committee on European Union Affairs

Eurofound: Discussion

2:00 am

Mr. Ivailo Kalfin:

Basically, Ireland is a good example of where you can make this distinction. For example, there is a huge difference between urban areas and rural areas, especially vis-à-vis housing prices. In rural areas, across the board, in all ages, about 10% of people have difficulties with housing. In urban areas, it is many times more than that, which impacts one's whole life – the living conditions, what kind of work you do, how you live, etc. This is very clear. I am not sure about the data in Ireland - for example, for job quality - but we see a general improvement of physical conditions, for instance, and the psychological conditions of work, which are very important. At the same time, women are reporting much more mental abuse and mental health problems at work, with aggressive language, etc. Another lens we can put on is on different sectors and different professions, again thinking about mental health and support at work. Stress is much higher in professions that have more direct contact with customers, in trade and transport, etc. The stress is much higher and there is a much bigger effect on women working in these sectors.

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