solve the housing problem easily...some solutions?

...again, such actions havent caused our housing problems, we re currently experiencing the catastrophic failure of the financialisation of our markets, and we re not the only country experiencing this problem!

...again, its the overall approach and process that is causing this, the whole process of promoting particular sectors of the economy, in particular the fire sectors(finance, insurance and real estate), to dictate and dominate the process, whos main goals are to maintain continual rising prices, is ultimately why we are where we are, this is policy driven! yes state interactions are also adding to this mess, but its ultimately ideologically driven, and now its fcuked!

when the council buys private houses ,it reduces the supply of houses on the market to buy ,this increases prices in general.

besdsits dont exist anymore, every flat has to have en suite bathroom .theres no easy solution, we need more houses built, increase height limits for apartments in citys, to 10 to 15 storeys .alot of council houses have only one person living in a 3 bed house .

theres 1000s of boarded up empty council flats .

Returning emigrants get feck all so nobody needs to worry on that score.

The housing crisis is much worse in Ireland than most other countries

It's a perpetual culture. If council tenants are given houses basically for free, then more jump on the wagon. Ordinary working people can't afford to guy a house, as these days, there needs to be 2 applicants with tens of thousands in savings, no kids and good jobs. A "single parent" on the other hand gets housed more quickly with more kids.

There are those who have a genuine need and there are those who game the system, often copying what their parents and other siblings do. The latter type do add competition to the market in 2 ways. By getting housed for free, others will see this as an easier route to a roof over their head. Unfortunately the most likely path for their kids will be more of the same.

Placing council tenants into the same properties others pay hundreds of thousands of euro for is not the right way of doing things. It makes the property unavailable to people who wanted to buy it. It makes it more expensive for those same people to buy any property. The ones with their hands out seem to get priority over those who deserve it.

We are now seeing similar trends for finding a GP to take on new patients. Private patients unable to get into a GP surgery, but medical card holders get assigned by the HSE and so have the distinct advantage of having a GP guaranteed and who also pay nothing for the privilege. This was discussed on the radio earlier this week. Madness.

A council house should never be seen as a forever home.

You get a 3/4 bed house when you need it with children etc, but when they are grown and flown the nest, then you should downsize, get a smaller house, releasing the 3/4 bed for a family and so the cycle continues.

Councils need to build different types of homes: family homes, single person accommodation, retirement villages to free up family homes etc. Not everyone needs to live in a 3 bed semi

Have a look on Shelbourne road, Ballsbridge. Theres social housing people living in the former officers quarters, Beggars Bush barracks.

They must be worth mega millions.

Not near me. Can’t remember when I last saw different types of housing being built

They do what? Downsize tenants based on their evolved needs? I don't believe so. Anyone living in single occupant or 1 bed dwellings have been there from the start and there are very few of those around. When tenants get older and live alone, the council spend thousands adapting the property to their needs rather than downsizing the tenant from a large 3/4 bed house.

I have personally known 2 couples who separated in the last decade who all now occupy 2 or 3 bed properties given to them by the council. Most working couples wouldn't have that luxury. They would either have to stay in the same property as a separated couple, or one move back home to their parents.

If the council or some other organisation with deep pockets did not buy the properties on the open market, the prices would not experience the same upward pressure. Highest bidder wins. Remove the council, hedge funds, housing charities etc and there would be a much better chance for first time buyers. They should not be the ones disadvantaged because others claim to be.

With more "private" properties being made available to buyers, the same would be true for renters. When property prices are low, so too are rental prices, so it makes for a healthier market if we separate the supply chains. Of course there are way more issues at play, but this is a big part of it.

Was in Dublin recently and people were walking around a sleeping bag with a homeless sleeper inside. It’s absolutely dreadful, I lived in Dublin years ago and this wasn’t around, or at least no where near to the extent it is now. Something is wrong. You hear of places like skid row in the US and this problem. But we never had this in Ireland. I know the problems are multi faceted due to the changes in society but it’s just appalling. Something is wrong or broken.

In general this is not true. See chart below:

Ireland Price to Rent Ratio

What this indicates is that there have been huge fluctuations in price as a proportion of rents [source]. If what you were claiming were true, this chart would be more or less flat.