Is the housing system rigged against single people?

That’s the question Andrea Gilligan is asking on Lunchtime Live this week and encouraging singletons to get in touch.

Andrea said it should come as “no surprise” to regular listeners that she is single and she often feels the system is weighted in favour of couples.

“I’ve decided all this week here, we’re going to look at the cost of being single in Ireland today," she said.

“That’s everything from saving for your house deposit, if you’re renting at the moment, if you’re thinking of buying, drawing down the mortgage, the bills, holidaying alone.

“It’s not all doom and gloom - we’ll chat about the social aspects as well and everything in between.

“We talk about price hikes a lot and we talk about the cost of living a lot but we so rarely talk about it from the single perspective and, in my experience, the housing game is rigged against single people.

“Even the bills; my TV licence came in only the other day. I had to renew it and unlike when I was in the house share and you could split the bill with four others, you are fully funding the full whack of it.”

Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath. Picture by: Julien Behal Photography

Andrea said her “biggest worry” is what not the everyday costs, but what she would do if her circumstances change.

“It’s the, ‘What if I struggle to pay the mortgage? What if I get sick?’

“That is something that genuinely worries me a lot and has done for the past two years - how am I going to pay the mortgage?”

With all this in mind, she wants to hear from Lunchtime Live listeners about their own experiences and whether they think the budget should do something specifically for single people.

“If you’re single, how do you manage it? How have you been affected by the cost of living?

“Should there be something in the budget for single people? I want to hear your experiences.”

Budget 2024 is due to take place in October.

You can listen back here:

Main image: Andrea Gilligan.