Wexford teenagers have bleak outlook on the future – ‘Their chief anxiety is that they will never own a house’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Such is the extent of the housing crisis that children as young as 14 are already concerned about where they will be living when they become adults. Recounting a conversation he had with students at Bridgetown College, Rosslare councillor and secondary school teacher Jim Codd said many teenagers have a bleak outlook on the future.

“I had the most upsetting conversation with a group of 14-15-year-olds the other day,” he said at the October meeting of the Rosslare Municipal District (RMD). “They told me their chief anxiety was that they would never own a house. That is how tangible this housing crisis is, how far the fear of homelessness has now spread.

"This wasn’t a fear I had when I was their age, this is right across society now.”

SEO of Wexford County Council’s (WCC) housing department, Stephen O’Connor, said he and his staff were doing all in their power to alleviate the concerns of the county’s young people.

“There’s a lot of social consciousness about the housing crisis and how difficult it is for younger people to access housing, it’s now trickling down to second level students, it’s not just young working adults any more,” he said.

"The only way to deal with these fears is to explain how the delivery works; housing is like a very big ship and you turn it slowly, by degrees, it’s not something that can happen quickly, but it is something that is progressing here in Wexford and we are doing well in comparison to other local authorities.”

Underlining that progress, Mr O’Connor said WCC was on track to meet the housing delivery targets set out under the government’s Housing For All programme for 2025 with months to spare.

Separately, Councillor Codd said there were a number of people from the RMD who, upon their release from prison, would have nowhere to live and no access to supports.

“We have a total of 61 people who, on a basis of needs, are homeless, that includes those currently in hospital or prison,” he said. “Many of these people are sofa surfing, sleeping in cars, and living in the terrible situations homeless people find themselves in.

"If we have people coming out of hospital who are obviously not well, and we don’t know where they’re going, then we have a problem.”

However, Mr O’Connor said the council was aware of the needs of those 61 people and was taking measures to ensure they don’t end up sleeping rough.

“Those 61 are made up of people who are already accessing homeless services, that includes people in Ozanam House (De Paul), those in temporary accommodation, people in bed and breakfasts, and those we know to be sofa surfing or staying temporarily with family and friends."

"These people aren’t all rough sleeping, we are engaging with them, they are on the housing list. With regards to those in hospital or prison – we are aware of those within those institutions who don't have a family home to return to when they get out.”