Ireland’s economy is “absolutely booming,” says Stephen O’Dwyer, the founder and owner of Dublin’s Tang cafe/restaurant chain. “But it has left people facing a very unequal and difficult society to work in.” At the top of O’Dwyer’s concerns is housing, which is cited by businesses large and small as a significant barrier to Ireland’s economic growth. The capital is not alone: cities from Cork to Limerick report acute housing shortages and rising levels of homelessness. “Housing is such a big issue – probably the No 1 issue businesses face at the moment,” he says. “For most people in the city, finding a job is the easy part. Finding a place to live is very difficult.” In the run-up to this week’s European elections, which take place in Ireland on 7 June, the housing logjam has led to much soul-searching: how can the country hope to fully capitalise on its economic potential without giving people a place to live? After a decade of low investment in all aspects of public infrastructure, when the only new properties being built were the single-dwelling homesteads that dot the countryside, Ireland is building again. Yet construction work is consistently falling behind demand, held back by...