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Social and affordable Housing Policy in
a Reunited Ireland.
Introduction
The chronic shortage of social and affordable housing in Ireland’s
major population centers, particularly in Dublin and Belfast and to
a lesser extent in Cork and Galway, is caused by a growing
population and the influx of workers and
college students, all vying for affordable accommodation. The
problem is exacerbated by the governments’ Dublin centric mindsets
that continues to allow the concentration of economic growth to
outpace available resources in
these population centers. In order
to mitigate that problem, economic development centers must be
established throughout the country close to smaller cities and
towns. Such an approach would ease the need for more and more
housing in the major population centers and at the same time
reinvigorate smaller cities and towns.
Ireland to its detriment has only two political power
centers namely Dublin in the Republic of Ireland and Belfast in
British controlled Northern Ireland. From the founding of the Irish
State in 1922, Dublin was the only place that mattered to the
out-of-touch elitists namely government officials, judges and
barristers, bankers, wealthy heirs and wealthy businessmen who ruled
the roost. Dublin was their bailiwick, the rest of the country
their playground for weekend getaways, lake fishing and fox hunting.
Belfast was no different than Dublin in this regard, harboring
similar elitists who availed of the spoils of sectarianism and conflict and ruled the enclave
as they saw fit.
For someone looking in on Dublin today may ask, what
has changed? The answer would be --- for the city landscape a
lot, for the political landscape very little. Dublin still gets
first dibs at everything that happens in Ireland. The Dublin
centric mindset that once helped Dublin is now the cause of its
decline as a desirable place to live and work. That same city
mindset is also stymieing progress in other
sectors of the economy including
healthcare, urban
and rural development and agriculture.
A New Approach
Building blocks of contiguous rowhomes on vacant lots
in overcrowded cities is not the answer at a time when quality of
life and sustainability issues are paramount. Squeezing more homes
into Dublin and Belfast will not solve the housing problem. It will
make a bad situation worse by adding to the congestion and
overcrowding that is already choking both cities. It may very well
be that the existing housing crisis will continue indefinitely and
possibly worsen if the same mindset, planning guidelines and building techniques continue to be used.
The Eire Athaontaithe (reunited Ireland) proposal
described on this website includes provisions for a federal republic
consisting of three regions where regional related government powers
and responsibilities would be assigned to regional governments. This
provision would ensure that urban and rural Ireland is not an
afterthought in the distribution of national resources for housing
and economic development.
To that end overall responsibility for social and affordable
housing and homelessness shelters would reside with regional
governments. They would be responsible for conducting needs
assessments, regional planning and development, securing sources of
funding, and implementing budgetary controls. Local authorities
would be responsible for building permission and compliance
requirements. Community
councils would be responsible for working with local governments to
develop equitable strategies amenable to community needs and
concerns.
Housing, in the final analysis, is a regional and
local responsibility that would be treated as a human right in
accordance with
international law.
It would not be treated as a commodity for manipulation by vulture
funds, buy and hold speculators or other housing market manipulators
for profit. Such entities would be prohibited from participating in
the social and affordable housing market
Regional, Urban and Rural Development
Regional planners in consultation with local
government and community councils’ officials would develop a
regional master plan based on needs, feasibility and economic
assessments. The master plan would include an urban component for
cities and towns and a rural components for villages and sparsely
populated remote areas.
Urban planning would include the siting of large
housing estates adjacent to cities or towns with access to train
service or a national primary road or motorway. Such estates would
include a mixture of social and affordable housing including
apartments. The layout would include parking and recreational
facilities such as playgrounds, biking and walking paths. Energy
saving measures including renewable and sustainable energy sources
would also be incorporated in the design. Adequate sanitary and
water treatment system must be available or otherwise provided for
in the estate layout plan.
Smaller housing developments sited in or adjacent to
towns would include many of the same construction design features as
the larger housing estates. Generally, these infill type development
would be able to connect to existing sanitary and water system and
also would be able to avail of existing public recreational
facilities.
Rural development would focus on improving the
quality of life in villages and sparsely populated remote areas.
Over the last hundred years most rural villages have lost
population and as a result the number of village homes have declined
accordingly. On the positive side, many of these same villages have
had clean water distribution systems installed over the past thirty
plus years. The same goes for broadband access. Consequently, many
of these villages are prime locations for siting affordable single
family homes, an ideal option for remote workers. Regional
governments would incentivize prospective homeowners and owners of
suitable building plots to participate in village revitalization
programs.
In rural areas, community centers are essential
amenities for rural populations to socialize, plan and engage in
various recreational and civic activities, access social services
and other government services. Community centers would also improve
the quality of life, facilitate community cohesion and engender a
culture of volunteerism.
Cognizant of that fact and the need to maintain and
revitalize rural communities, regional master plans would include
provisions for community centers and the updating of existing
centers. Community leaders would be responsible for obtaining the
necessary approvals and funding and for the overseeing the building
process. Government assistance in the form of requirements, grants
and streamlined permitting and approval procedures would be
available.
As we move forward in a changing world it’s also
important to apply innovative solutions to the building of
facilities for the aged and infirm, residential centers for children
in care, and homelessness shelters. New facilities would meet
current building standard and would be sited close to healthcare
facilities, hospitals or other facilities where social services,
healthcare, security and protection services would be readily
available as needed.
Streamlined procedures and permitting
approvals.
In the past, planning permission was seemingly left
to the discretion of low level bureaucrats in county council
offices. Whether or not there were guidelines to follow, they were
ignored. It was a given that corrupt planning officials
in concert with corrupt county councilors were adept at the art of
shuffling cash-laden brown envelope from unscrupulous contractors
and developers in exchange for approving faulty and deceptive
building applications. Corrupt officials would be severely dealt
with in a reunited Ireland
Building application and instruction would embrace
plain language and be easily understood by everyone. In other words,
they would be devoid of legalese and unnecessary verbiage that would
require the services of a lawyer to decipher. There is no need for
complexity in ant matter relating to government services. Any
rejection of a building application would be in writing with an
explanation of what needed to be corrected. A final rejection letter
would be reviewed and cosigned by the department head. The same
requirements would apply to building inspections and any other
matter requiring official sanction.
Conclusion
Housing like healthcare is a human right that the
Irish government must provide for those who cannot provide housing
for themselves for lack of adequate financial resources. At present,
the demand for social housing in Ireland far outpaces the supply.
In like manner, affordable housing is in short supply, expensive
and out of reach for many middle class families. Although the
government tries to get a handle on the situation, its approach is
deficient and uneven at best. It lacks a coherent strategy,
exacerbated by a centralized planning and management approach that
is blind to hidden opportunities in urban and rural areas beyond the
pale.
The regional approach to housing described in this
article is better suited to the task. Regional planners in
consultation with local housing authorities would be better attuned
to local housing needs, the optimum location of housing developments
and the type of housing needed.
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