Shortage of housing is a bad business

THE housing crisis is damaging the country’s ability to attract investment as firms are finding it increasingly difficult to secure accommodation for their staff, a leading business organisation claimed.

The Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) said that housing challenges are harming Ireland’s attractiveness as a place to live and pose one of the greatest threats to Ireland’s competitiveness.

The business body said that the Government must deliver radical new policies alongside a new collective effort to urgently address the acute housing shortage.

IBEC has also put forward new measures which they claim would cut the cost of new homes by €30,000.

The organisation yesterday published a major new housing report as part of its ongoing “Better Lives, Better Business” campaign.

Impact

IBEC said that a recent survey found that over 70 per cent of companies identified the availability of housing for staff as a challenge to their business operations in 2023, with 30 per cent identifying it as a major challenge.

Over 27 per cent of businesses identified the impact of housing availability on employees as one of their top three external priorities for their business.

At the launch of the report, IBEC Director of lobbying & influence Fergal O’Brien said providing affordable housing must be a government priority.

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