‘Everything we have is going on paying the monthly rent’

Rising rents and stagnant incomes are making renting increasingly expensive. Rents jumped 14 per cent over the past year in Dublin - and 9 per cent nationally.

Many low-income families find they are priced out of the market, while many on middle incomes are finding it harder to rent where they want to live.

Joanne Martin dreams of owning a house one day, but keeping a roof over her family’s heads is her main priority right now.

She has been renting with her partner, Robert, and their children, seven-year-old Alex and five-year-old Hannah, for the past two years in Naas, Co Kildare.

The semi-detached house on the outskirts of the town costs €950 a month, but their rent is due to increase in August.

Based on price rises for similar homes in the area, she expects it to jump to anything between €1,200 and €1,300 per month.

“We won’t be able to afford it,” she says. “We don’t get rent allowance or anything like that, so everything we have at the moment is going on paying the monthly rent. All we have left after we pay our bills is about €40 for food.”

Martin works in accounts, although her contract ended recently. Her partner is a locksmith, but work has been thin on the ground. They now find they are being priced out of rented accommodation in the area.

“We just feel lost. We’ve searched everywhere for affordable accommodation: Daft, adverts, other websites. All we’ve been able to find are one-bedroom granny flats or damp cottages without central heating. We’re not picky, but we can’t find anything suitable or affordable.”

Martin once imagined they would own a place in the neighbourhood where they grew up. But their mortgage application was rejected recently.

Home ownership now seems an improbable aspiration. “It’s just a dream – I can’t see it ever happening,” she says.

Unless she or her partner soon finds new and well-paid work, their only option will be to move far enough away that rents are cheaper. That could be up to an hour’s drive from where they are – which would be a wrench for everyone, particularly the children.

“We’re hopeful, despite everything,” she says. “We’ve made a lot of sacrifices. We don’t drink, we don’t smoke, we’re very careful with our money and forever switching off lights or appliances. We’ll keep looking.”