Young people are better off than their parents generation except when it comes to housing, according to Newstalk Breakfast host Shane Coleman.
A report from the National Youth Council of Ireland (NCYI) has found half of young people are “dissatisfied” with their current housing situation.
Housing was the most concerning issue for 67% of respondents with more than half of respondents reporting a rise in their rental or mortgage payments over the past year.
The cost of living was also the most pressing concern for 62% of young people.
Shane dismissed suggestions that young people are worse off than their parents generation.
"If you're 18, 19, 20, 21 you're not worse off than your parents generation and all that facts show that," he said.
"We are a much wealthier country than we were 20 years ago and certainly than we were 20 or 40 years ago.
"Where I think there is an issue, undoubtedly, is housing."
'It can be solved'
Shane said the cost of living crisis is also impacting people's live but it is nothing new.
"The '70s and '80s had cost of living crises as well so I'm not sure that's as big a factor," he said.
"Housing is an issue and there is a perception - it's more than a perception, it's a reality - how difficult it is to get on the housing ladder.
"How difficult it is to afford even to rent a house."
Shane said people need to remember that the housing issue can be solved.
"We seem to regard housing in this country as an issue that can't be solved and I don't accept that, I think it can be solved," he said.
"We're too slow in addressing it for a whole load of reasons we've discussed many times... but I suppose my message to young people would be these are issues that can be solved.
"It could be done quicker, it should be done quicker but I don't necessarily buy the argument that they are worse off than their parents generation".
'Perennially broke'
Presenter Ciara Kelly said the current generation definitely has more than she did.
"Definitely when I look at my kids and what they have, I look at their clothes and things and I think I had about three pairs of jeans when I was in college," she said.
"If you bought a bowl of chips in college once every few weeks you thought you were on the pigs back.
"So we were kind of perennially broke."
'More basic models'
Ciara said we need to consider making housing more basic.
"Housing is a difference; but I sometimes wonder have we skewed the housing market so everytime we produce a house now it's to such a high standard and so expensive," she said.
"Do we need much more basic models? They have them in parts of Europe - in Germany you can buy four walls with a bit of plumbing and electrics.
"It's really basic and it gets people in at a much lower level, we don't do any of that here."
'Permacrisis'
Ciara said people also need to look on the bright side more often.
"I do believe there is some kind of a modern phenomenon of the permacrisis that makes people feel they've nothing to look forward to," she said.
"No matter their circumstances are they think everything is miserable, everything is bleak.
"There is a pervasive narrative about how awful things are".
Ciara added that we need to look at the world "through the glass is half-full" approach.
