Up to 13,500 Mayo adults 'living at home with parents due to housing crisis'

Up to 13,500 adults between the ages of 18 and 44 - more than the population of Castlebar - are living at home with their parents in County Mayo.

The statistic has been highlighted in Dáil Eireann by Erris-based TD Rose Conway-Walsh during a debate on the lack of investment by the government in affordable housing to address the crisis of young people being unable to purchase their own homes.

In response to Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien's assertion that the government is making progress on the matter, Deputy Conway -Walsh hit out: "(So) he is completely satisfied that house prices have risen by €100,000 since the Government took office and are now completely out of control, and he is completely satisfied with the commodification of houses.

"The minister is completely satisfied that there are people living in cars in Mayo and that thousands of young people are forced to leave the country in order that they can live independently.

"The minister is completely satisfied that the cost of trying to build on your own land is astronomical, planning is a nightmare and families in Mayo trying to build their own homes are being crucified by rising construction costs.

"He is completely satisfied that families are crowded into totally unsuitable living conditions with multiple generations living on top of each other and that the government's affordable housing scheme excludes over 75% of County Mayo or everywhere outside Castlebar and Westport.

"The minister is also satisfied that children with disabilities are living in precarious accommodation from hotel room to hotel room.

"He is satisfied with the sky-high rents that people are paying, with people having to refuse jobs because they cannot get somewhere to live, with schools and hospitals finding it difficult because they cannot recruit staff and with Garda stations that cannot be manned because there is no accommodation nearby.

"The minister is satisfied that there is no emergency accommodation in Ballina or north Mayo and that we are giving over €1 billion a year in subsidies to private landlords."

Housing is shaping up to be a major issue in the forthcoming election.