Poll: When do you think Ireland's housing crisis will ease?
Salesforce expects the issue to wane by the time its new Dublin office is fully operational.
ASK MANY PEOPLE grappling with the pricey rental market – or trying to scrape together a deposit for their own home – and the impact of Ireland’s housing crisis will be all too real.
The supply of new homes reached a nine-year high last year, according to Goodbody’s housebuilding tracker, but the figure of nearly 19,000 dwellings remains about half the estimated demand.
The acute shortage of properties, particularly in Dublin but also in cities like Cork and Galway, has pushed asking rents nationwide 30% above their 2008 peak, based on figures from Daft.ie.
Some firms have complained that the housing crisis has made recruiting workers a major challenge as they are unable to pay the salaries needed to fund staff outgoings in Ireland’s cities.
However speaking last week, Salesforce’s Ireland country leader said he was “very confident” the government would resolve the housing issue by the time its new offices in Dublin’s docklands were fully operational.
The site is expected to open its doors in 2021, while the company has pledged to add 1,500 jobs to its more than 1,000-strong workforce in the capital over the next five years.
Planning permission for new dwellings soared last year when compared to 2017, pointing to a significant increase in housing construction, however there is no guarantee the proposals will come to fruition.
With that in mind, we’re asking Fora readers this week: When do you think Ireland’s housing crisis will ease?
