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31st Oct 2018

Ireland’s largest housing crisis survey is looking for responses

Carl Kinsella

affordable housing Ireland

Activist group Uplift has launched a large survey, seeking stories from Ireland’s housing crisis.

Both property prices and rental prices in Ireland have skyrocketed across the last few years. At the same time, homelessness has increased, and recent data suggests that as many as 10,000 people are now homeless in Ireland.

According to the Residential Tenancies Board, the national standardised average rent is now €1,094, an increase of €77 per month since last year.

A statement from the group reads: “The People’s Housing Survey aims to expose the hidden full extent of the crisis beyond visible homelessness – like instability, unsafe housing, being forced to share with family, excessive debt, mental health issues, and culturally appropriate housing.

“For the last three months, Uplift – a community campaigning organisation made up of over 175,000 people has been collecting stories and statistics from people experiencing the housing crisis in Ireland.

“The group have collected almost 2,800 responses so far and the stories will form the basis of a people powered campaign to force the Government into tackling the housing crisis before next years local elections and the next general election”.

Uplift Campaigns Director Emily Duffy said: “I don’t know anyone my age that hasn’t been in some way negatively affected by the housing crisis. I’m getting evicted in January and the cost of rent out there is truly shocking. People from all walks of life need to come together to share their experiences and the effects this crisis is having on their lives”.

The survey can be accessed here, and takes roughly five minutes to complete. Today (31 October) is your last day to contribute your story.

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