Rental crisis and haircuts

Sir — We have all recently heard how the Dublin rental crisis is affecting the “big guys”, our beloved IT giants, who complain that the skilled workers from overseas won’t come to Dublin, no matter what wages, because of the abhorrent accommodation shortage.

Apparently, managers ask employees to rent out rooms to newcomers, and generally get involved, trying to help. But not once have we heard how the same crisis affects other smaller businesses.

For a time now, we have been struggling to find staff for our hair salon.

There are very nearly zero applications!

Recently, I realised that we are not the only ones. Restaurants in Dublin cannot find chefs, creches cannot find childminders, and hair salons cannot find stylists.

Many people want to live in Dublin — but they are forced to leave because they can find nowhere affordable to live, and they take their skills with them.

I hope the responsible agencies will take a broader view on this and get on with the solutions, before we all leave Dublin and take our skills with us. Lana Sayan, Merrion Road, Dublin 4