OK Boomer? Why Ireland’s Young Feel Poorer Than Their Parents

Ireland’s economic story looks dazzling on paper but dig a little deeper and you find a very different picture. A huge share of the country’s assets sits in the hands of older generations, with property acting as the gatekeeper to wealth. For younger people, buying a home has become the great dividing line — and without it, the chance to build security or pass anything on is slipping further out of reach.  On today’s podcast, millennials Sean Defoe and Barra Roantree, economist at Trinity College Dublin, discuss whether younger generations really are on course to be poorer than their parents. From the housing market to pensions, from post-crash recovery to pandemic aftershocks, the conversation explores how policy choices, timing and demographics have combined to leave so many younger Irish people struggling to get a foothold. Are millennials and Gen Z staring down a future of renting into retirement? Could Ireland be heading for its own “intergenerational apartheid”? And what does it mean for social cohesion if young people see stability as permanently out of reach while older generations defend vast reserves of housing wealth? With emigration once again rising, rents spiralling and half a million adults still living with their parents, Sean and Barra look at whether this generational divide is sustainable — and what might finally shift the dial. We’d love to hear from you: do you think Ireland’s younger generations have been locked out of wealth forever, or is there a way back? Email [email protected] with your thoughts.