Resource context and provenance
This “Just the Facts” explainer, titled Under One Roof? Europe’s Housing Crisis, is published by European Movement Ireland. The page states it is largely informed by Eurofound’s 2023 report Unaffordable and inadequate housing in Europe and related Eurofound briefing content. The resource’s author(s) are not named on the page. 🇮🇪 Ireland as a case study within an EU-wide crisis The resource positions housing and homelessness as a top political and social issue in Ireland and uses Ireland to illustrate broader European trends. It cites an Irish Times/RTÉ/TG4/TCD exit poll (Ipsos B&A) indicating housing and homelessness were the most important issue for voters in Ireland’s 2024 general election. It also references survey fieldwork showing housing was cited by 44% of respondents as a key topic (second to cost of living), compared with an EU average of 10%.
Prices, access, and young adults living at home
Using Central Statistics Office figures, the explainer reports Irish residential property prices rose 8.6% between June 2023 and June 2024, with a median dwelling price of €337,000. Regional differences are highlighted, with the highest median price (€630,000) in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown and the lowest (€169,000) in Longford. The text links affordability pressures to delayed household formation: Eurostat data for 2023 is cited showing 56.2% of adults aged 25–29 in Ireland lived with their parents (EU average 41.7%), compared with much lower shares in Denmark (4.5%), Finland (5.2%), Sweden (9.7%) and the Netherlands (18%).
Housing typology and structural differences
Ireland is described as an EU outlier in dwelling type. The explainer cites Eurostat housing statistics for 2023 reporting 89.7% of people in Ireland lived in houses (EU average 51.7%), while 10.2% lived in flats (EU average 47.7%). This is contrasted with countries such as Spain, where the majority live in flats.
EU-wide trends: costs rising faster than incomes
Drawing on Eurofound analysis, the resource argues the crisis “impacts almost everyone” across owners and renters, urban and rural areas, and different income groups. It states that since 2016, house prices and rents have increased faster than disposable income, intensifying affordability challenges—especially for young adults and low-income households.
Four housing problems identified by Eurofound
The explainer summarises Eurofound’s four headline problems: exclusion, insecurity, high housing costs, and inadequacy. Exclusion includes homelessness and young adults unable to afford independent housing; it cites 2024 estimates (Feantsa and Fondation Abbé Pierre) of 1,287,000 people in the EU sleeping rough, in shelters, or in temporary accommodation. Insecurity is described as the risk of losing housing, with private renters presented as particularly exposed. Cost overburden is framed through the share of people spending 40% or more of income on housing and utilities, and inadequacy includes issues like overcrowding and poor insulation/energy efficiency.
Policy levers at EU and national levels
The resource notes the EU has no direct competence over national housing policy but can influence outcomes through recommendations, data, state-aid and fiscal rules, and funding instruments. Examples cited include EU structural and investment funds (2014–2020) linked to improved energy performance for over 550,000 households and 28,000 renovated housing units. National measures highlighted include Housing First approaches (with Finland cited for declining homelessness), eviction-prevention mechanisms, targeted renter supports, and increasing the supply of affordable, adequate, and well-connected housing—alongside using green-transition funding to improve energy efficiency while protecting lower-income households.