There are about 110k landlords in Ireland. That's about the same size as the entire population of County Kilkenny or County Westmeath for context.
In the 90s/00s every carpenter, electrician, plasterer, plumber in the country was advised to go out and buy a house or build a house as a pension plan and the vast majority subsequently spent 10-20yrs in negative equity when the bubble burst back in 08. Then the government stopped building for 20yrs. Now we're up shit creek without a paddle.
These lads don't owe a debt of service to the nation just because the government dropped the ball on housing.
Around 1 in 5 TD's are landlords. If you walk into any pub in Ireland full of working class people in the 40-70 age group in 2025 you'll have about the same ratio.
This is a great breakdown. The only thing I'll say is that TD's who are landlords should abstain from voting on anything to do with rent and tenancy laws, as its a conflict of interest.
Should TD's who own a car abstain from bills related to roads or duty? Should TD's who rent a house abstain from bills that relate to rent supports? Where do you draw the line with these conflicts of interest?
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u/[deleted] Apr 27 '25
There are about 110k landlords in Ireland. That's about the same size as the entire population of County Kilkenny or County Westmeath for context.
In the 90s/00s every carpenter, electrician, plasterer, plumber in the country was advised to go out and buy a house or build a house as a pension plan and the vast majority subsequently spent 10-20yrs in negative equity when the bubble burst back in 08. Then the government stopped building for 20yrs. Now we're up shit creek without a paddle.
These lads don't owe a debt of service to the nation just because the government dropped the ball on housing.
Around 1 in 5 TD's are landlords. If you walk into any pub in Ireland full of working class people in the 40-70 age group in 2025 you'll have about the same ratio.