The use of modular homes for bus drivers in Dublin is a “reflection of really, really poor housing policy” in Ireland, a housing expert has argued.
Eirebus, which operates the Swords Express, has applied for planning permission to Fingal County Council for the retention of 19 modular accommodation units and six mobile home units.
The units are located at their Corduff Road depot in Dublin and would be used by drivers to take breaks between shifts.
In a statement, the company said the “local rental market is incapable of meeting the demand generated by the operation”.
On The Claire Byrne Show, Lorcan Sirr of TU Dublin said there is a “long history” of companies providing their staff with accommodation.
“What strikes me from the Airbus case is that these are already up and running,” he said.
“And, in a classic Irish sense, we will sin first and seek forgiveness later, they're applying for retention of these.
“It raises loads of issues around safety, security and low quality accommodation - if you've ever been in a yard where there are buses or trucks or anything like that, it's not a place really where you want to live.
“But on the other side, like on the Airbus side of the argument, I mean, this is all a reflection of really, really poor housing policy over the years and poor outcomes.”
Dr Sirr noted that many drivers work long hours, with early starts or late finishes.
However, the housing crisis means they rarely live local to their place of work.
“If these drivers, you know, are finishing at 2am and have to drive an hour and a half back to wherever they could manage to find accommodation, that seriously affects people's health,” Dr Sirr argued.
“You eat more, you get more stressed, you spend less time with your kids and your family and all that.
“That then leads to wage inflation because in order to attract, say, more bus drivers, Airbus might have to offer more money.
“That impacts their profits. People having more money means they can outbid each other for rents, which drives up rents. So, there's a whole kind of circularity around this.”
However, it is not just a problem unique, with many other people in decently paid jobs struggling to find an affordable place to rent close to their place of work.
“A lot of schools, particularly primary schools in large urban areas, particularly Dublin, have issues retaining teachers, particularly when they hit the age of their early 30s,” Dr Sirr said.
“They're at that stage where they want to kind of transition from renting into home ownership.
“They can't find anywhere that they live, so they just up sticks and they move back to Cavan, Monaghan, Roscommon, wherever they're from.
“So, it's not like this is across the board in the economy.”
Main image: A modular home. Picture by: Alamy.
