Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Thousands of young people and their parents woke up to a notification on their phones yesterday morning that stated the ESRI had found that those aged under 30 are likely to be the first generation worse off than their parents due to stagnant wages and a collapse in home ownership rates. That was the message that people's phones alerted them to, but those young people did not need that message or proof. This is a generation of young people who work hard and who get up earlier than their parents in the morning, but who have been let down. It is simply not a country for young people. These young people are earning less than young people did in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on their careers, their incomes, their opportunities, their desires and their ambitions. Young people who are more likely to work in the retail, hospitality, arts or leisure sectors will have had even lower wages over the last year and a half. Couples having lower wages combined with higher and rising rents means it is not surprising that home ownership for these people is just a pipe dream. The report from the ESRI found that while Covid-19 hit older people's health, it has hit young people's prospects of employment and earnings severely. Some 112,000 fewer people aged between 15 years old and 34 years old were in paid work in the first quarter of 2020 compared to a year earlier. Moreover, this situation has impacted their mental health. Young people have been left without help or hope throughout this pandemic. They are spending up to 30% of their disposable income on housing and that is not sustainable. Will NESC be examining this issue and what solutions will it be pursuing?

An extensive report was published by NESC in April on housing and urban development policy priorities. It calls for a site value tax and also for the reform of compulsory purchase order, CPO, powers and sale orders for vacant land and property. Would the Taoiseach support a tax on vacant housing, for example? It is a tool we believe should be used.

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