housing developments in european countries - Department of ...

Section 2
Context
Context Section 2
The rate of inflation as
measured by the Consumer
Price Index fell to 1.8% in
January 2004, the lowest
level in 4 years while,
according to the EU
Harmonised Indices of
Consumer Prices, Ireland’s
inflation rate was 2.3% in
January 2004.
2.14.4 Demography
Table
2.14.3
Table 2.14.3 reveals that the population of the Ireland
stood at 3,917,336 persons in 2002. This represents a
population increase of 15.2% since 1980 which is
among the highest of the countries examined in this
review. The population growth is related to the birth
rate, which has increased since 1990 and, although
relatively low in historic terms, is well above the EU
average. However, a more significant cause of the
population expansion is the advent of positive net
Demographic Trends in Ireland, 1981-2002
Category 1981 1986 1991 1996 2002
No. No. No. No. No.
Population 3,443,405 3,540,643 3,525,719 3,626,087 3,917,336
Population change (+/-) N/A +97,238 -14,925 +100,235 +291,249
Natural increase (+/-) N/A +169,120 +119,245 +92,035 +138,182
Net migration (+/-) N/A -71,883 -134,170 +8,200 +153,067
Independent households 880,000 976,000 1,029,000 Nav 1,287,958
migration into Ireland in the mid-1990s. Migration in
Ireland has reversed from a situation of net emigration
of 6.53 per 1,000 population in 1990 to net
immigration in 2003 of 7.48 per 1,000 of population.
This growth in population also contributed to a
growth in the number of households which increased
from 1,029,000 in 1981 to 1,287,958 in 2002.
However, a more significant contribution to this trend
is the decline in average household size, which has
fallen from 3.34 in 1991 to 2.94 in 2002.
2.15 Italy
2.15.1 Policy Making and
Implementation
Following legislative reform in 2001, responsibility for
Public Residential Building in Italy was transferred
from central to local government and the remit of
central government is now confined to macroprogramming
and co-financing of projects.
Types of public residential building in Italy can be
categorised as follows:
■ publicly financed housing – includes all dwellings
built by public bodies (generally the Autonomous
Institute of Public Housing and the town councils),
which are fully financed either solely by central
government or by a combination of central and
local government and other public bodies; these
dwellings are available for rent by less affluent
households who meet other requirements set out in
legislation;
■ subsidised housing – includes dwellings that have
been partly financed by central or local government
subsidies towards mortgage interest and are only
available to beneficiaries who meet a range of
conditions prescribed by law; the interest rate
subsidy varies according to the income bracket of
the beneficiary and may be equal to 30%, 50% or
70% of the interest rate; the dwellings are
constructed by building co-operatives, by
commercial firms and also by private individuals,
and
■ council aided housing – similar to subsidised
housing, with the exception that the sale of housing
that the firms or co-operatives construct is governed
by an agreement with the Town Council, whereby
the developer is granted special favourable
conditions and in return must undertake to grant
the buyers favourable conditions, e.g. the dwellings
may be sold at less than their market price or at a
reduced price.
Table
2.15.1
Category %
Average number of persons
per dwelling 1980 3.2
1991 2.2
2001 2.1
Dwellings by age (1991) (%)
2.15.2 Stock
Characteristics of the Housing Stock
in Italy, 2002
1980 10.1
Dwellings by the availability
of facilities (1995) (%) Central heating 79
Bath or shower 99
Lavatory 99
In 2001 the Italian housing stock totalled 26,526,000
dwellings. This constitutes 471 dwellings per 1,000
inhabitants which is well above the average for the
countries that are the focus of this study. Also in this
year 80% of families owned their own home, and of
the remaining 20% who rented, some 80% rented
from a private landlord, while 20% lived in social
housing rented from a public authority.
In 2002, 24% of all dwellings in Italy were
unoccupied. This vacancy rate is very high in European
terms. However, the housing vacancy levels vary
significantly between different regions of the country.
In the north, 19% of dwellings are empty; this rises to
20% in the centre and 34% in the south.
TABLE 2.15.1 provides additional information on the
characteristics of the Italian housing stock. It
demonstrates that the average number of persons per
dwelling has fallen in recent decades, from 3.2 in 1980
to 2.1 in 2001. In terms of the average age of
dwellings the Italian housing stock is relatively old
compared to many of the other countries examined in
this review. Only 29.8% of dwellings were constructed
after 1971. However, in terms of the availability of
amenities, Italian dwellings compare well with those in
other European countries. In 1995, 99% of dwellings
in this country had flush toilets, for example.
50 European Union Report
Regular National Report on Housing Developments in European Countries
51