The "vicious" cycle of expensive rents and a serious supply shortage of housing will lead the National Children's Hospital to "a chronic shortage of nurses" and other staff.
As the 2024 opening date for the new children's hospital at St James's creeps closer it's feared that the issue could lead to delays in recruiting enough staff. While staff from current children's hospitals including Crumlin and Temple Street will be moving to the site it will still need around 5,000 to operate.
The INMO has warned it could lead to further delays in opening the already overdue and over budget hospital. Rents in the Dublin 8 area where the hospital is situated would mean an average of 70% take home pay would be spend each month and there is no parking for staff who commute to the site.
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Labour's Marie Sherlock told the Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk that the "vicious cycle" is being seen across many sectors. Those on lower pay, such as porters and healthcare assistants, would also struggle.
She said: "The INMO is absolutely right in highlighting the vicious cycle that we have, that's going on in Dublin, and of course other parts of the country right now. This vicious cycle of fewer units, more and more people chasing, high rents and a very small number of homes to buy.
"It's not even just about nurses, we know there's a chronic shortage of nurses in the city, but also all the other works that are going to be needed at the National Children's Hospital. In terms of the porters, the healthcare assistants, the doctors and all the other staff that will be required.
"We're seeing this day in and day out across many sectors now. Workers saying to us they want to stay in the jobs that they love and employers saying they can't get staff because the cost of housing is so high. And the reality is, in this city, for someone who's looking to take up a new tenancy, and if they're on the average pay, around two euros of three in their take home pay is going to have to go towards rent. We can all do the math and see just how crippling it is for people to try and rent."
The issues surrounding recruitment are being seen in many sectors including construction. Another issue is people training in Ireland and then leaving due to the immense costs associated with working here.
She continued: "Ultimately there's going to be more staff working in paediatric services in this city by the time the hospital is built. The reality is that more staff is going to have to be recruited. The reality is that we already have a chronic shortage.
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We have a very, very serious crisis on our hands in regard to recruitment. People are voting with their feet. They're training her and then they're leaving because they cannot afford to stay in this city. This is across so many other sectors. These are people in good jobs with decent income."
Mary Conway of the Irish Property Owners Association said there is high demand for housing in Ireland as workers come from abroad for construction work. Companies are now looking to enter into long term lets to ensure they can keep the housing for future staff rather than lose it when one employee leaves.
She added: "The problem is that the workers who are coming, mainly from abroad, to work on specific projects there. One of the projects would be the windows, the glazing, and these are specialist contractors that are coming in from abroad. I got a call, the first Monday back in January, to ask me could I find ten rooms immediately because they needed to bring guys in cause they were under pressure with the project.
"Then I got a call the same evening from another contractor asking could I find him 15 rooms. I work as an estate agent, most of my work is with construction companies bringing workers from abroad for big projects, and the biggest challenge here is they have the workers, they have the work, but they don't have anywhere for them.
"The traditional kind of short lets to construction workers isn't really there [anymore] cause these guys are coming - they may come in for six or eight weeks for a project - and then the other lads come in. So the companies know if they let the housing go they won't be getting it back."
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