Irish birthrate slumps 22% in a decade

At least the 'xenophobic Irish first nonsense' is efficient, compared to your nonsense, which will take at least several more decades to turn Ireland into a third world country. Perhaps instead, we could address the fact that we have allowed corporate interests to transform work and society into an utterly hostile envirornment to the very concept of family.

Amazing that the birthrate could fall so much in a decade.

I'd expect that quite few working people nowadays would have a house or a child by 30. Until relatively recently it'd be unusual for a woman not to have any children by age 33, but that wouldn't be a bit unusual now. Things have changed hugely really, large families are not very common anymore, four would be seen as a big family now, whereas once it might have been about average. The UK used to have smaller family sizes than us, but more and more Ireland is like that with fewer kids very much the norm.

One concern I'd have is that culture doesn't encourage having children nowadays. I think many younger people, even my own kids, don't realise how rewarding it is. It strikes me that many younger people only see downsides, even though being a parent is fantastic.

Revolution is in the air. 10 years I gave it unless they've placated us so much with their entertainment products. The show is up and Russia Ukraine and the loose monetary policy combined with the global warming is gonna change our society in a way that we haven't seen since the French Revolution.

The capitalism we have had since the 80s has benefited capitalism itself and the ultra rich. It feeds into our lizard brain though because those who do well think they are the winners and in some ways they are. They then enjoy the fruits of their efforts and the cycle repeats itself like a virus. If you step outside the game you're a loser. We are all complicit in this bullshit. And what we have to show for it is the anericanisation of the globe and a Starbucks on every corner. **** that.

If demand for housing outstrips supply because of the immigration surge, it's common knowledge that Irish people and couples won't be able to find housing or even rent. The only way to curtail demand for housing is to curtail non-EU migration here thus making it easier for professional working people to find housing/accommodation. We can't keep paving over our countryside. If anything, I think we will need legislation to take down the SDH high-rise developments that were previously granted between 2016 and now and use some of the Apple Tax to compensate the owners fully or partly (depending on whether or not they're individuals or cuckoo funds). This would be retroactive and it can be legally done, because it would be in the public interest.

I agree @Jim2007

Security of tenure when it comes to renting is critical. Not one-year leases, but three to five-year leases with no rental increases allowed during that period and a subsequent cut in the tax that Landlords have to pay. It's around 40% now, which is insane.

But, it will be difficult to change a culture that believes that "Rent is dead money".

Add a million people to the country in a manner that is utterly inorganic and difficult to plan for, be surprised there is a housing shortage and pretty much all other services come under strain.

Add hundreds of thousands of migrants that (as you point out) rent and then watch the building sector pivot to build lucrative buy-to-let shoebox properties to accomodate that market, be surprised that there are no houses to buy.

Import hundreds of thousands of wagie's to do minimum wage jobs, people who pay little tax and expatriate what megre saving they make and are a net drain on the economy, be surprised that immigrants aren't actually going to 'pay for your pension' and the age at which you will qualify for one goes up despite all the migrants that have arrive tp 'pay for your pension' as we keep getting told.

Reduce your society to nothing but an economy of transiant workers and citizens to nothing but a PPS number, and be surprised when social cohesion collapses.

I could go on, and on but it would probably be fruitless. Mass immigration is nothing less then a pyramid scheme.

There is some frustration in this thread and I think it's understandable.

It's a pretty sad indictment of Ireland at the moment that people in stable relationships won't have children because they can't afford a house.

In my local paper today I saw that the county of Clare's population has increased by 40% since the 90s, no doubt this is the case across most of the country. Of course there was very little planning for this and houses have become very expensive. The fall in the birth rate is almost certainly tied up with this.

Someone else said that there could be a revolution. I wouldn't be as dramatic as that, but if SF come to power promising to promote cheaper housing and more protection for workers rather than encouraging FDI it'll be a huge political moment. I'd be very cynical about SF, but if people can't afford basics like a house and feel they can't have children then there is a huge need for an upheaval.

Immigration, over a long period of time, since the mid 90s, has been quite high. It absolutely is a major reason for the shortage of housing now, maybe the biggest single factor.

Between 2002 and 2012 there was a population gain of over 300,000 through immigration. As lately as 2019 there was a nett gain of over 33,000 due to migration, so using the average household size as a guide, 12,000 new homes were needed that year to keep pace with immigration.

That's not to say that immigration is undesirable, but it most certainly has been a huge factor in rising costs of housing.

I also think it's important to have an honest dialogue in the country about immigration and the overall impact. There are many skilled immigrants, many very hard workers, many who add hugely to Ireland. Not of that is in doubt.