Finding a job in Ireland is easy. Finding a place to live is the hard bit

Dublin does not seem a fair city to those who move there to work but can't afford a home. Ireland's coalition government says it is acting on housebuilding, but bosses and staff say it must try harder

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.