Dublin-based musician David Kitt took to social media to reveal his sadness at having to leave his beloved hometown because of high rent prices.
The 43-year-old, who is the son of former Fianna Fáil minister Tom Kitt, spoke of how spiraling rent costs and Fine Gael's housing policy is "failing this city and its people massively".
Kitt revealed in the impassioned Facebook post that his Dublin home, where he recorded his latest album Yous, has been sold to a consortium of European investors.
He wrote: "The house I live in just got sold as part of a portfolio to a consortium of European investors. It will be sold or rented no doubt to someone working for Amazon on a base salary of 470k while the people who make this city what it is are forced out to the suburbs or to a city they can afford a reasonable quality of life and where their level of income doesn't make them feel like a complete failure," he continued.
"The bottom line is all the real money is being repatriated, the growth is not sustainable or real. have we not learned anything from the last boom and bust cycle? it's worse than the Celtic Tiger though and the price is too high in terms of people and culture, it's sickening but nobody seems to be able to do anything about it. It will end in tears."
His words have sparked a wider discussion online around the crippling of Dublin's creative community by the cost of living.
"I can't afford to live in my hometown any more. I don't want to go," Kitt continued.
"It feels like one of the best periods of creativity I've lived through in this city. Having given most of my adult life working my ass off in a profession where those with the power repeatedly fail their own and book festival line ups that make us look like a regional city of the UK rather than a country brimming with original talent that deserves more help and platform and proper reward."
Such valid points in this. Ireland Inc is obsessed with showcasing Dublin's creativity but refuses to accommodate artists or anyone contributing to the city. https://t.co/kJw1v6vEl8
— Finian Murphy (@finianmurphy) July 30, 2018
Fully agree with @David_Kitt. It's not acceptable to profit from the human need for a home. I'm sick to death of seeing artists build vibrant communities only to be pushed out. It's nothing short of state-sponsored social vandalism as @maoiliosarey says. https://t.co/VqlV8zCb67
— Sinéad Mercier (@sineadmercier) July 31, 2018
I left too, I live in Glasgow now, what's happening in Dublin is heartbreaking
— Kelly-Anne Byrne (@KellyAnneByrne2) July 29, 2018
Dublin is going to lose its creative class. I’ve no idea how anyone on the erratic earnings of a self employed artist of any description is paying for rent. Me staying in Limerick all these years isn’t just stubborn parochialism.
— The Blindboy Podcast (@Rubberbandits) July 31, 2018
See More: David Kitt, Dublin, Emigration, Ireland, Music, Property, Rent Prices
