'Generational crisis is getting worse' - 68% of young people still living with their parents

A CORK councillor warned of the potential hidden costs of the housing crisis as 68% of people aged between 25 and 29 in Ireland continue to live at home with parents.

Labour Cllr John Maher was referring to Eurostat figures which he said reveal the ‘stark social consequences’ of the accommodation crisis. He reiterated the disastrous effect these challenges are having on the lives of young people in Cork city. 

It follows details of new figures from 2022 which shed light on how more than two in three people in Ireland aged between 25 and 29 (68%) are still living at home with their parents.

Cllr Maher spoke out about everything from extortionate rents to rising house prices.

“These Eurostat figures reveal the stark social consequences of the housing crisis which represents a lived reality for too many of our young people in Cork,” he said.

“Unaffordable rents and skyrocketing house prices have meant that young people are living at home with parents for longer, putting off big life moments like living independently or moving in with friends or a partner. 

"The generational crisis is getting worse.

“The number of those living at home with their parents has doubled in a decade, and Ireland is way above the EU average – across the EU, on average only 42% of those aged between 25 and 29 remain living in their parents’ home,” he added.

“There is a hidden cost to this. Young people are putting off making big life decisions and effectively ‘failing to launch’ their adult lives because they lack the social structures that the State should be providing, like access to a secure and affordable home, as well as access to other social supports like childcare and affordable healthcare.

“Having your own home, a place to call your own, is a fundamental human right. 

"It provides a sense of stability and independence which is being denied to this generation of young people. It is impossible to live a fully empowered life as a young person from a childhood bedroom.”