housing developments in european countries - Department of ...

Section 2
Context
Context Section 2
2.14 Ireland
Table
2.14.1
Characteristics of the Housing Stock
in Ireland, 2002
Table
2.14.2
Economic Trends in Ireland, 1995-2001
2.14.1 Policy Making and
Implementation
The key objective of housing policy in Ireland is: ‘To
enable every household to have available an affordable
dwelling of good quality suited to its needs, in a good
environment and, as far as possible, at the tenure of
their choice’. The general principle underpinning the
policy approach to achieving this objective is that those
who can afford to do so should provide for their own
housing needs, either through home ownership or
private rented accommodation and that those who
cannot provide housing for themselves should have
access to social housing.
This objective and principle are actualised by
government with the aid of a number of strategies. The
primary strategy is to oversee and seek to maintain an
efficient housing market by implementing a multistranded
approach to address housing needs as these
emerge. In addition, a range of detailed strategies have
been devised which relate to various interventions and
supports in the private and social housing domains to
facilitate appropriate standards of housing provision
and to promote social inclusion. These include the
following:
■ facilitate access to home ownership by those who
desire and can afford it through fiscal and other
measures;
■ expand the availability of housing (in locations that
reflect the provisions of the National Spatial
Strategy) to meet demand, through the development
and implementation of measures in the following
areas: the legislative, regulatory and fiscal
framework; securing the provision and efficient use
of residential land; expansion of social housing and
of housing for sale at below market value to lower
income households; enhancing the role of the
private rented sector by reforming legislation and
promoting increased accommodation supply;
addressing the special housing needs of older,
disabled and homeless persons and Ireland’s
Category %
Permanently occupied
dwellings by facilities No central heating 13.23
No piped water 0.35
Permanently occupied
dwellings by number
of rooms 1 room 1.41
2 rooms 3.71
3 rooms 7.39
4 rooms 11.14
5 rooms 22.59
6 rooms 20.52
7 or more rooms 27.56
Permanently occupied
dwellings by tenure Owner-occupied 77.4
Local authority rented 6.9
Privately rented 11
Other 4.7
Permanently occupied
dwellings by period
of construction < 1919 13.5
1919-1940 8.93
1941-1960 11.3
1961-1970 8.9
1971-1980 16.9
1981-1990 13.32
> 1991 22.7
Permanently occupied
dwellings by type Apartments 6
Detached houses 46
Semi-detached houses 27
Terraced houses 20
indigenous nomadic community – the Travellers –
and supporting anti-poverty initiatives under the
National Anti-Poverty Strategy and the Revitalising
Areas by Planning and Investment Programme;
■ support housing advice services, through the local
authority system, to enable those coming in contact
with the local authorities to obtain advice on all of
the available housing options, and
■ seek to ensure appropriate housing standards by:
promoting sustainable, affordable, energy-efficient,
architecturally appropriate new housing
construction, which employs the best available
construction techniques and is adaptable to
changing needs over its lifetime; and promoting the
Category 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
% % % % % % %
Growth in GDP (at constant 1995 prices) (%) 9.9 8.1 11.1 8.6 11.3 10.1 6.2
Unemployed persons as a % of the labour force 12.3 11.7 7.5 9.9 5.6 4.3 3.9
Change in the consumer price index (%) Nav 2.2 1.2 2.1 2.5 5.3 4.0
conservation and improvement of the public and
private housing stock, with particular emphasis on
meeting the needs of low-income households and
regenerating run-down local authority estates.
The Irish housing stock is of very recent construction
in comparison with most of the other countries
examined in this review. Over 50% of dwellings were
built since 1971 and 43% were built since 1980. As a
result the standard of dwellings is comparatively high.
At central government level, the Department of the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government is
responsible for the formulation of housing policy and
for overseeing its implementation. The provision and
management of social housing is primarily the
responsibility of 88 local authorities (who act as
housing authorities), although in recent years the
voluntary and co-operative (not-for-profit) housing
sector has become an increasingly important provider
of social housing in Ireland.
In 2002, only 0.35% of dwellings had no piped water,
while 13.23% had no central heating. Connection to
mains electricity is virtually universal across both
urban and rural areas, but connection to the natural
gas network is mainly confined to Dublin and some
other urban areas in the southern half of the country.
The average number of persons per room in Ireland
was 0.55 in 2002, which constitutes a marked fall
from the equivalent figures for 1981 and 1991: 0.74
and 0.64 respectively.
2.14.2 Stock
2.14.3 Economy
In 2003, the Irish housing stock totalled 1,554,000
As revealed in TABLE 2.14.2, Ireland has seen dramatic
dwellings, or 391 per 1,000 inhabitants, which is
growth in GDP between 1995 and 2001. However, in
below the average for the countries under examination.
recent years the rate of growth in GDP has been more
TABLE 2.14.1 reveals that a large majority of occupied
modest; it reached 1.4% in 2003. Ireland’s General
dwellings in Ireland (77.4%) were owner-occupied,
Government Debt to GDP ratio was 32.3% at the end
while 11% were rented from a private landlord. Unlike
of 2002 and 32% at the end of 2003. A similar
many other countries examined in this review the
General Government Debt to GNP ratio of 32.2% is
proportion of dwellings that are owner-occupied in
forecast for 2004.
Ireland has fallen in recent years while the percentage
of privately rented dwellings has grown. In 1991,
Table 2.14.2 also demonstrates that the unemployment
80.2% of dwellings in the country were owneroccupied,
while 7% were privately rented. Local
rate in Ireland has fallen dramatically since 1995 and
that this low rate of unemployment has been
authorities are the principal providers of social housing
maintained in recent years. In the 12 months to midin
Ireland. However, the percentage of dwellings
2003 the seasonally adjusted rate of unemployment
provided by this source has fallen in recent years –
was 4.9%, employment increased by 1.4%, while the
from 9.7% in 1991 to 6.9% in 2002. Nevertheless, the
labour force expanded by 2%. Building and
‘other’ category in this table also includes non-profit
construction employment increased by 0.5% during
agencies, which, as was mentioned above, have become
the year to December 2003.
increasingly important providers of social housing in
recent years.
48 European Union Report
Regular National Report on Housing Developments in European Countries
49