ESRI report: High rents pushing young people to the brink of poverty

High rents are pushing young people to the brink of poverty, according to new figures from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) released on Friday.

The new report found that one third of people on the poverty line are working full-time and have third-level degrees.

The report found renters face a far higher risk of poverty than homeowners, with the price of rent increasing by 84 per cent since 2012.

Michelle Murphy, of Social Justice Ireland, said the trend was a worrying one for those currently in college.

"They're going into the private rented sector, so when you factor in housing costs, they have one of the highest poverty rates in the country, it goes up to over 40 per cent.

"You've younger graduates now, looking at graduating — in terms of wages then, in terms of the jobs that they're going in to, generally younger workers tend to have lower levels of pay," she said.

Barra Roantree, an economist at the ESRI and an author of the report, said: “Addressing the challenges of housing affordability highlighted in our report will require a sustained increase in supply, particularly of social and cost rental housing.

“Until that is achieved, and despite the large costs involved, supports like HAP will continue to play a key role.

“Given this, more regular review of the income and rent limits governing the scheme will be needed if the exposure of more households to unaffordable housing costs is to be avoided.”

Michelle Barrett, another author of the report, said: “Our report finds that the way poverty is officially measured potentially excludes many individuals in households affected by a disability.

“This is because it does not account for the substantial extra costs of living faced by this group, and suggests that there may be a case for revisiting the way the income-related component of the official poverty indicator is measured.”

Paul Redmond, an economist at the ESRI and another author of the report, said: “In-work poverty is an area of concern as it is linked to lower wellbeing and social exclusion.

“In 2019, approximately 220,000 people were affected by in-work poverty in Ireland."