A REPORT investigating the quality of life within member states of the European Union has shown that Ireland has experienced a rise in young adults living with their parents.
The Eurofound report, entitled 'Household composition and well-being', shows that Ireland has some of the highest number of young adults living with their parents out of all the EU member states.
While different countries across the European Union have noticed decreases and increases in the number of adults living with their parents since 2007, the report states that Ireland has suffered one of worst jumps, particularly for those aged between 25 - 29.
In this age bracket, the largest increases were found in Ireland, Luxembourg and Romania.
The report investigates the reasons why some countries may be experiencing a rise in adults living at home, and while the economic fallout of 2008 continues to be a factor in some cases, it also makes reference to Ireland's ongoing housing, rent and accomodation crisis.
The report states that "some countries have been struggling with a housing crisis with strong regional imbalances, with cities most affected: housing shortages have been reported notably in the UK, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, but also at local level in the Netherlands and Germany".
In total, over three-quarters of young adults in the European Union aged 18-24 still live with at least one parent, with the highest concentration to be found in Croatia and Slovakia, but the overall average for adults aged 25-29 was considerably lower, at 34%.
This is in contrast to Ireland's figures, which shows that 47% of young people aged 25-29 are living at home with at least one parent-- almost half of all people in that age bracket.
Sinn Féin Housing Spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin, who is hoping to become the next Minister for Housing, said the report is "not surprising", and illustrates the need for the next government to take drastic action on the housing crisis.
He said:
"There are solutions. The next government must commit to ambitious targets and the required funding in order to roll out affordable cost rental.
"People can’t wait any longer. The policy is there, the sites are there, we just need a commitment from all parties that the funding and plan will be a priority as part of a government for change."
Mr Ó Broin recently announced he had contacted numerous colleges across Ireland to request a meeting following a decision by NUI Galway to increase their student campus accommodation by a further 4% this year.
"High rents are a barrier to education", he said at the time. "There has to be a better solution to financing of student accommodation".
See More: EU, Housing Crisis
