Department of Housing deletes video on moving back home after backlash

The Department of Housing has deleted a controversial video from its social media pages.

The video featured tips for young people on how to move back in with their parents during the housing crisis.

It was widely mocked by the opposition who said it was a perfect example of how out of touch the Government was.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin had previously defended the video, saying it highlighted the broader issues facing young people in the housing market.

Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said during Leaders' Questions on Tuesday that the video, created by the SpunOut youth organisation and shared by the Department of Housing, was “patronising”.

"Demeaning, hurtful, insulting and a two-fingered salute to an entire generation.

“These are the words people are using to describe the decision by the Minister’s Government to share a video advising people how to cope with moving back into the family home.”

Mr Doherty said people in their 20s, 30s and 40s are being forced to move back in with their parents because of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s “mess” on housing policy.

Mr Doherty said the “hard reality” is that two-thirds of 18-34 year olds are still living with their parents and the number of young people forced to live with their family is increasing at a faster rate than any country in Europe.

Speaking during Leaders’ Questions, he said: “Demeaning, hurtful, insulting and a two-fingered salute to an entire generation.

“These are the words people are using to describe the decision by the Minister’s Government to share a video advising people how to cope with moving back into the family home.”

Representing the Government, Fianna Fáil deputy leader and Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers said the video was not a direct campaign by the Department of Housing.

He said it was created by SpunOut and added: “It was developed by young people and it is based on their experiences.”

Mr Chambers said he recognised the Government needs to do everything it can to improve the availability and delivery of social and affordable homes right across our country.

He said he accepted that rents were still too expensive for many young people and this is why the Government had extended rent pressure zones and the rent tax credit.

It comes after Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin admitted that he thought the video was "tone deaf" and satirical, and had been posted by Waterford Whispers.

The video features two young people offering tips such as setting house rules, paying rent, doing chores, and managing potential conflicts while living at home.

Mr Ó Broin previously told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland: “The number of young people moving back home has doubled over the last decade to its highest level in some time is because the government's housing policy is pushing up house prices, pushing up rents, pushing up homelessness, while at the same time failing to deliver social affordable homes.

“So the idea that the very people who are responsible for the rising levels of young adults, not just in their 20s but into their 30s, being forced to live at home, would then give people advice about doing household chores and setting boundaries, I think is just going to anger people."

Rory Hearne, the Social Democrats housing spokesperson, also criticised the Department of Housing for sharing the video saying it was “normalising something that should not be normalised".