Finance

Homeless Crises Affecting Businesses

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The more shrewd of Ireland will have long recognised that the current, long, ongoing shortage of affordable housing – or lack of any accommodation available – has not just caused the numbers of homeless to rise but also affected more. One of these additional aspects involves companies looking to start-up in Ireland or come into Ireland as a workable European base.
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Many big and medium sized multinational companies have expressed their frustration also at the still growing crises. Their concern is not unfounded. They speaking to other business friends in Ireland, are being told that setups already here are having serious staff problems. The staff problems stem from available staff existing – but unable to find affordable or any accommodation near the place of employment they are invited to come work for.
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This has become a major problem for companies. Existing staff or sought staff, cannot find a home. Certainly not one they can afford. As much as they would like to take up an offered job role, finding living quarters near to that work placement has become a dramatic local and national crises also.
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The IDA is very much aware of this problem. In order to try still attract business to Ireland however, they have adopted a different PR approach (rather than openly tell FG to get their finger out and do better). Executives from the IDA are reportedly being advised (by guess who) to say that the country’s housing shortage was “not unique to Ireland” in issued guidance documents.
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The investment agency has apparently drawn up answers for staff, on what to say when issues around rising property prices, spiraling rents, and homelessness came up for discussion. The IDA is in fact thinking that giving international price comparisons will help spin things in its favour.
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On the local ground around Ireland, the IDA’s PR spinning is having little affect. Wannabe incoming companies are still seeing that little or no accommodation is available. All the PR pitches of international comparisons is not going to change that fact.
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The housing crises while extremely important to those sleeping rough, is also important to Irish business, thus tax take, etc. A further long term, additional ‘bigger picture’. In other words, to our national economy. This is why in part, people such myself and others continue to advocate for a new government building program. A national construction company (which would also create employment and new apprentice opportunities) is one additional possible solution.
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Rent control zones with by-laws that landlords are running legal rings around and laughing at (example: they re-classify rent increases as new additional add-on charges), are not helping at all, in many cases. Companies looking at Ireland are increasing not swallowing the empty PR spin that they are “committed to meeting the demand” for new housing.
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FG relying on private building contractors and also spinning their construction numbers, as supposed overall state built numbers, is rightly not being accepted as the full accurate truth about the current Irish housing crises. In short, the IDA and FG is fooling very few. The long term affect of all this will be on the national economy again. Again, it will reach down to local levels. In fact, it already is.
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State media and biased supporters who have their own media outlets, are being careful to not report much of this.

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