An Irish tenor has said he and his wife have moved to Spain because there is a lingering stigma about renting in Ireland. 

Paul Byrom and his wife Catherine have been visiting Spain for years and decided they wanted to make the move permanent. 

On Lunchtime Live, Mr Byrom described himself as a “proud Dub” who loves Ireland, but added that Spain offers a better quality of life. 

“Every time we're down here, I suppose that there's a number of things that kind of stick out,” he explained. 

“You notice the cost of things are just a hell of a lot cheaper than back home.

“It's always kind of half-hearted to say, ‘God, why aren't we living here?’

“Then we kind of laugh it off and then move on; then the laugh started getting shorter and shorter.”

The couple have no children and Mr Byrom’s work involves touring the globe. 

It means they have the freedom to live anywhere they want - provided the have the right to residency. 

“Where I'm actually based isn't necessarily an issue for me,” he said. 

“Then Catherine got a job opportunity which allowed her to work remotely.

“And it was one of these sliding door moments where we're like, ‘Okay, it's either now or never.’”

The beachfront in the town of Nerja on Spain’s Costa Del Sol. Picture by: Stefan Toonstra / Alamy.com.

However, there was one big push factor that stood out for them - the cost of housing in Ireland that only ever seems to increase. 

“I've got to be honest with you; at the end of each month, we were renting in Dublin and we were saving for or trying to save for a mortgage,” Mr Byrom said. 

“Both of us are on a decent wage and we're not wealthy, we're not poor, we're kind of somewhere in the middle there. 

“And at the end of each month, you'd be like, where's our money?” 

Mr Byrom continued that the housing crisis in Ireland meant they felt like they were “constantly swimming against the tide” and Spain simply felt more affordable. 

He also feels that many in Ireland look down on renters. 

“As soon as you say renting - maybe this is on me - but you're kind of made to feel less,” Mr Byrom said. 

“You're a lesser person because you only rent; so, you felt there was a sort of a nearly a little bit of a stigma.”