‘Housing? I have to admit to being comfortable and it’s not affecting me’: Polarised views in south and west Dublin

As voters do their ‘big shop’ on the final Saturday before going to the polls, concerns in divergent parts of Dublin are notably different.
The housing crisis is mentioned in both south county and west Dublin, but it and the cost of living preoccupy more minds in the latter.
“Getting our own house is not on the cards at all,” says Anna Raymond outside the main supermarket on Neilstown Road.
The area, comprised mainly of local authority housing, is classified by the independent agency Pobal, drawing on Census 2022 data, as “very disadvantaged”.
Ms Raymond, shopping with her partner Sean Kearney and their baby Leopold, explains they live with his parents in a three-bedroom council house.
“Sean’s brother just moved out so the baby is going to have his own bedroom. The cost of living is so much – food, going out, everything.”
The working couple are concerned about “the rise” of the far-right.
“We will be voting left anyway. We know Gino Kenny [TD, People Before Profit]. He has been really good in the community for years,” says Ms Raymond.
“And Sinn Féin. Mark Ward all the way,” adds Mr Kearney, referring to one of the party’s two TDs and candidates in this Dublin Mid West constituency.
Housing, the cost of living and immigration concern Paddy Reilly, a truck driver in his 60s.
“It seems the Government are looking after immigrants instead of their own first. I am feeling it and seeing it.
“I am on a tight budget. Socialising is out the window. You can’t go out, so you lose out on friends. That is lonely of course. The only time I go out is to go to work. The price of groceries is very high, very.
“I would have been Sinn Féin but not now,” he continues. “I am voting for the Irish Freedom Party.” Referencing the party’s candidate, councillor Glen Moore, Mr Reilly says: “He’s speaking for the people. He’s good and people are voting for him.”
Rob, in his 40s, did not want to give a surname. He has had to move back in with his parents.
“It’s virtually impossible for anyone of my age to get on the housing ladder. I don’t want to live in shared accommodation with strangers. My vote won’t be for any of the big parties. I love Gino [Kenny]. I think he’s great.”
For Jacqueline Smith too, housing is the number one issue. Her five sons, the oldest in his 40s, live with her in a three-bedroom council house.
“It is stressful. They were born in the area and can’t live in it – can’t get anywhere to rent. The cost of living? Don’t even go there. I’ll vote Sinn Féin. I want to see a change.”
Thirty kilometres away in a part of South Dublin classified by Pobal as “affluent”, shoppers in Blackrock shopping centre are concerned with wasteful public spending, a lack of long-term planning and taxes.
“The local issue for me is the swimming pool in Stillorgan,” says Bernie Collins, retired insurance worker.
“It’s closed ten years and nobody is doing anything about it. Housing? I have to admit to being comfortable and it’s not affecting me. It’s a pity people can’t get on the housing [ladder] but people have to get out and work, get off the dole. Money is handed out too handy, in my opinion.”
Scott Graham and Ally Mulrooney, both 21, say “mainly housing” is deciding their votes.
“I live at home but eventually I will need to move out,” says Mr Graham. His girlfriend is renting a room in a house near Croke Park for €800 a month.
“We don’t even have a sittingroom,” she says.
“I have looked at rents,” says Mr Graham. “I couldn’t afford to pay more than €1,000 and there’s nothing. I work part-time. I like the policies of the Social Democrats. I feel like they have a chance, I want a different tack to be taken. Sinn Féin? I think my parents would disown me if I voted for them.”
A woman in her 60s who did not give her name said: “I’d like to see a party with a plan instead of smarties being given out in the budget. I’d like to see a vision and I don’t see that.”
Brendan Nicholson, in his 60s, is “okay financially”. He wants to see more “strategic thinking” and less “giving away money to buy votes . . . It’s coming back to the time of Bertie [Ahern] when they thought they were flush [with stamp duty returns].”
Young couple Ger and Roisín Cronin, expecting a baby, “luckily” own their home.
“Across the board things are getting more expensive and there doesn’t seem to be much coming back,” says Mr Cronin. “We get taxed quite a lot, the USC is still there, and we don’t really see much in return.”
Gavin O’Leary, from Rathcoole owns a marketing business. He “fortunately” has a house and a mortgage he can sustain.
“Our children are young – won’t need housing for a while. I work really hard, don’t get days off, so we have enough. Traditionally we’d be a Fine Gael household,” he continues.
A Fianna Fáil candidate who helped with speed bumps on his road, however, will get his vote on Friday.