The great Mayo housing freeze dilemma and how to tackle it

by Caoimhín Rowland

The announcement of modular housing plans to address Ireland's generational renewal speaks volumes about how far we've fallen.

That the public greets these mere crumbs from the table with such enthusiasm only demonstrates how thoroughly beaten down we've become on housing issues.

It’s still only floated and the devil will be in the detail, yet over a decade into the ‘homes can’t be built overnight’ mantra of our continuing government parties we’re hearing some sounds resembling common sense at last.

Take Google's latest initiative in Dublin's Docklands - offering ‘affordable’ housing to key workers like gardaí and nurses for ‘just’ under €2,000 monthly through an approved housing body.

It would be laughable if it weren't so tragic.

The romantic notion of your country guards and nurses meeting up in Dublin’s Coppers and settling down in the capital is now purely nostalgia - they're both more likely to be found in Dubai or Australia, with little incentive to return home.

The statistics in Mayo tell an even grimmer story: 13,500 young people remain trapped in their parents' homes, their prospects of independent living growing dimmer by the day.

The societal ripple effects are profound - fewer young couples meeting, delayed life milestones, and plummeting fertility rates.

The social contract lies in tatters.

For the current government, particularly Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, survival hinges on a single metric: can they create more homeowners than currently exist?

The battle lines are clearly drawn between parties representing homeowners and those speaking for the renting class.

The government know they need to grow the number of homeowners and quickly if they are to have any chance at the next general election.

But there might be a solution hiding in plain sight, and it's not in some far-flung corner of the globe - it's just across the Irish Sea.

In Wales, specifically Gwynedd County, authorities have implemented a revolutionary approach to tackle their housing crisis.

Since September 2024, they've required planning permission to convert homes into holiday lets or second homes, coupled with a punitive 150% council tax premium on such properties.

The results? House prices have fallen by more than 12% year-on-year, making homes more accessible to local buyers.

Cyngor Gwynedd (their county council) has effectively prioritised their local population's housing needs over the holiday home market that was slowly suffocating their communities.

The Welsh language in areas of outstanding beauty was being diluted, native speakers could not get homes while holiday lets proliferated the landscape. Sounds familiar?

Here in Mayo, we're seeing a similar malaise - vacant holiday homes standing as monuments to seasonal occupation, Airbnb draining the long-term rental market, and the proposed scrapping of Rent Pressure Zones threatening to make matters worse.

Our Gaeltacht regions, like their Welsh counterparts, face the additional challenge of preserving linguistic heritage amid housing pressures.

The vacant holiday home tax proposal that's emerged from the housing SPC deserves serious consideration.

Yes, Mayo County Council's lawyers might balk at it, citing our centralised planning structures that require Dublin's blessing for local initiatives. But perhaps it's time to push back against these constraints.

Instead of sending our councillors on junkets to far-flung destinations, why not arrange a climate-conscious trip to Gwynedd?

Let our Strategic Policy Committee members meet their Welsh counterparts who've successfully implemented these changes. They've managed to both cool an overheated market and protect their native language - achievements that should resonate deeply in Mayo.

The stakes couldn't be higher. While we debate and deliberate, 13,500 of our young people are weighing their futures, with Australia, Canada or Dubai increasingly looking like more realistic options than remaining in their home county.

The Welsh example shows us that bold, decisive action can work. The question is: do we have the political courage to follow their lead?

Mayo is a vast county, treat it like the principality, only allow our Gaeltacht regions into this plan to help preserve language, clamp down on holiday lets in Tourmakeady and Erris and show that there is local demand for housing that needs to be remedied.

Planning must be sought immediately for a holiday let and then increase taxes like the council in Wales at an exorbitant rate. A firm hand in the market is required to stem the tide of our young upping sticks and leaving at a time of full employment but little hope.

The time for half-measures and modular solutions has passed. Mayo needs housing policies with teeth, and Gwynedd has given us a blueprint. All that remains is the will to act.