1997 450,000 400,000 350,000 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 House Prices – Dublin l Number of Housing
Loans Paid Average Value of Mortgage l
House Prices – Rest of Country l
Source House Prices – Permanent TSB / ESRI. Housing loans and value of mortgages: CSO, 2008a, page 61 based on Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government Housing Statistics, at www.environ.ie.
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 jan-may 353,800 427,900 336,000 281,400 267,500 335,063 220,600 270,218 217,917 111,253 53,691 107,500 103,900 62,000 57,901
Housing Need
It was non-home owners, however, who had most difficulty accessing or affording housing during the Celtic Tiger years, both public and private renters. Despite strong economic growth and a construction boom the number of households on local authority waiting lists more than doubled from 27,427 in 1996 to 56,249 in 2008 (Department of Environment and Local Government Housing Statistics). Figure 4.22 shows the composition of households in need of housing for 2002, 2005 and 2008. There has been a substantial increase in the numbers of households saying they could not reasonably meet the cost of their accommodation – 53 per cent of households in need of housing in 2008. There has also been an increase in the number of households requiring housing for medical or compassionate reasons and the numbers sharing involuntarily. While there has been a decline in the numbers living in overcrowded accommodation these households still make up 9 per cent of those in need of housing. Although the numbers are comparatively small there has been a significant increase in the numbers of people leaving institutional care who are in need of housing, up from 82 in 2002 to 715 in 2008.
60,000 55,000 50,000 45,000 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 2002
Source Department of the Environment, Local Authority Assessment of Social Housing Need.
p
Not Able to Meet Costp
Overcrowdedp
Medical Reasonsp
Involuntary Sharingp
Homelessp
Elderlyp
Unfit Accommodationp
Travellerp
Disabledp
Leaving Institutional CareN um be r o f H ou se ho ld s
Figure 4.22
Housing Need in Ireland, 2002, 2005, 2008
2005 2008 21,452 8,513 3,400 4,421 2,468 2,006 4,065 1,583 25,045 4,112 3,547 3,375 2,3991,727 1,725 29,583 4,805 8,059 4,9641,394 2,4991,757 1,012480 262 423 82 1,317 1,155 715
Private tenants spend a relatively large proportion of their income on housing costs (Fahey and Duffy, 2007: 133). Problems regarding the affordability of housing have been most severe in the private rented sector with private renters having a high risk of poverty (Fahey, Nolan and Maître, 2004). The quality of some private rented housing is also inadequate (Threshold, 2008).
The availability of adequate accommodation is fundamental to well-being. In its report on housing, NESC recommended the creation of an expanded and more flexible stock of social housing and the achievement of high quality, sustainable development (NESC, 2004). In particular, NESC recommended an additional 73,000 permanent social housing units. A more active land management strategy was recommended with a view to building more sustainable neighbourhoods. The Department of Environment has responded to some of the shortcomings identified in its 2007 policy statement Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities. New measures are being pursued to improve standards in the rented accommodation sector and rent levels have moderated.
However, given the current level of housing need, along with an anticipated increase as a consequence of the economic recession, the provision of social and affordable accommodation remains to be addressed. An opportunity exists to redeploy construction workers to the construction and regeneration of social housing. In addition, in some locations, there is the opportunity for vacant private properties to be sourced through the Rental Accommodation Scheme, and in other innovative ways, to meet housing need.
Attention also needs to be paid to the building of sustainable communities. Such an approach requires the provision of social and cultural facilities, along with houses, as set out in the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government’s statutory planning guidelines on Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas. The integration of native and migrant populations should be central to the construction of sustainable communities, as earlier experience from other European countries at times of recession after a period of strong immigration, has shown us that failure to pursue an integration policy has led to long-term social and cultural problems (NESC, 2006a; NESC, 2006b).
Social Capital
Much of the housing development in the last ten years in Ireland has been ‘development-led’. This is particularly evident in the suburban hinterlands of Dublin and has led to concerns about deficits of social capital in these expanding suburbs and commuter towns. Corcoran, Gray and Peillon (2007) carried out research in four of the expanding Dublin ‘commuter suburbs’.75 They found that the people
they interviewed felt attached to their communities and that, in general, they were good places to bring up children. They had close relations with others at similar stages of family formation and participated in social and civic events at a modest level. In other words there was evidence of community interaction and social capital (Corcoran, Gray and Peillon, 2007: 196).
These findings were not without qualification. There were concerns about the ‘unregulated nature of development’, the lack of a range of basic amenities, a limited number of school places and traffic congestion. Underpinning a frustration in getting these issues addressed was a lack of local government institutions at neighbourhood level, referred to by Corcoran et al., as an ‘institutional void’ (Corcoran, Gray and Peillon, 2007: 197). The Government’s Green Paper, Local Government, Stronger Local Democracy – Options for Change (2008d) attempts to address some of these issues, particularly in relation to civic participation.
The SLÁN survey asked respondents throughout Ireland about the ease of getting practical help from neighbours, if needed (Barry et al., 2009). Nearly three-quarters of respondents (74 per cent) reported that they found it ‘easy’ or ‘very easy’ to get practical help from neighbours when they needed it. People living in rural areas were more likely to report help from neighbours (84 per cent) than people living in urban areas (68 per cent).
Community Involvement
The extent of community participation can be gauged through levels of volunteering and community involvement, sometimes referred to as ‘social capital’.76 Perceptions
are that levels of volunteering have been in decline over the last fifteen years, but this has not been borne out by the evidence. As reported by the Taskforce on Active Citizenship (2007a: 3) ‘no clear trend (upwards or downwards) emerged from an analysis of civic behaviour and attitudes in the 1990s’.
A survey undertaken by the ESRI in 2006 for the Taskforce on Active Citizenship showed an upward trend between 2002 and 2006 in levels of engagement and volunteering. Volunteering increased from 17.1 per cent of the population in 2002 to 23.1 per cent in 2006, while active community involvement went up from 21.7 per cent to 29 per cent over the same period (Taskforce on Active Citizenship, 2007a: 4). Census 2006 included a new question on voluntary activities. The results of this question showed that 16.4 per cent of the population aged 15 and over were involved in voluntary activities. The 45-54 age group had the highest participation rate in voluntary activities; social or charitable work was the most common with sporting activities next.
The 2007 SLÁN survey (Morgan et al., 2008: 6) found that attendance at least one community activity on a regular basis in the last year was reported by 55 per cent of respondents,77 showing a decline from 59 per cent in 2002, when a similar survey
was carried out. Figure 4.23 shows attendance at community activities by gender, age and social class from the SLÁN survey (Barry et al., 2009: 61). Involvement in community activities is more common in higher social classes, with there being little difference between men and women. The focus here has been on individuals, but it should be noted that the organisations in which they participate make a valuable contribution to the social capital of local areas and community well-being.
76. Social capital has been defined as ‘networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate co-operation within or among groups’ (OECD, 2001; NESF, 2003). ‘Active citizenship’ has been defined by the Taskforce on Active Citizenship (2007b) as ‘the voluntary capacity of citizens and communities working directly together, or through elected representatives, to exercise economic, social and political power in pursuit of shared goals’.
77. Much of the variation in levels of community involvement/voluntary activity reported may reflect the nature of the questions asked. The SLÁN question asks about attendance, rather than participation.
Environment
At a broader level, the quality of our environment impacts on our well-being and in recent times much more attention has been given to environmental issues than heretofore. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) report, Ireland’s Environment 2008, highlights Ireland’s four environmental challenges: limiting and adapting to climate change; mainstreaming environmental considerations; reversing environmental degradation; and complying with environmental legislation and agreements.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The most significant and challenging environmental issue facing Ireland is climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Currently Ireland has one of the highest levels of per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, and our emissions profile has changed dramatically since 1990, with the contribution from transport more than doubled and a reduction in the share from agriculture. Ireland is in a unique position as the EU country with the highest proportion of agricultural emissions combined with further projected growth in transport emissions (EPA, 2008: 27). Under the Kyoto protocol, EU countries have agreed to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU to 8 per cent below 1990 levels for the period 2008-2012. Ireland’s Kyoto burden-sharing target is to ensure that average levels in the 2008- 2012 period are no more than 13 per cent above the 1990 emissions (CSO, 2008a: 65). Ireland has exceeded the Kyoto target of 113 for greenhouse gas emissions over the last ten years reaching 127.1 per cent of the 1990 level in 2001, see Figure 4.24. There was an improvement between 2002 and 2004, but the level has been relatively high in recent years.
Figure 4.23