Sir, - Annette Jorgenson (December 25th-28th) refers to the emergence of the housing co-operatives organised by the 1930s Workers' Movement in Denmark as a means of securing tenants' rights.
The parallel social housing development here during the same period was the expansion of local authority public housing programmes. These were developed on a small scale by the first Free State government and followed through on a larger scale by the de Valera governments. The new estates built during that period transformed the housing conditions of thousands of Irish people. It is true that social housing efforts in several other countries have catered for a wider section of the population than has occurred here, where individual home ownership has been promoted by successive governments.
Since the 1980s there has also been the development of a network of rental housing co-operatives - mainly in the Dublin area where 19 projects of this type are now in operation. SIPTU provided a site for this purpose at Townsend Street, where a co-operative apartment project was completed in 1998.
This network can be extended to other urban areas where there is an ongoing need for well-managed rental housing; this has already happened in Galway City with our support and assistance. Other non-profit/voluntary housing associations have been expanding their contribution to the relief of rental housing needs.
About 20 per cent of the additional new social rented housing provided in recent years has been built by the non-profit/voluntary and co-operative housing sectors. Given current property price trends, more rented housing and, perhaps, affordable equity-sharing forms of tenure will be needed. Co-operative movements in other countries have provided co-ownership equity-sharing dwellings.
The co-operative housing movement provides security of tenure for member/tenants who are willing to pay the subsidised rents and accept some responsibility for the care of their dwellings. Similar tenure policies apply in the case of the other types of non-profit housing associations.
We also have friendly and useful contacts with counterpart organisations in Denmark and other countries. As in Denmark, we use the rents for maintenance and upkeep of the dwellings - and keeping dwellings vermin-free! - Yours, etc., Bernard Thompson, NABCo (The Co-operative Housing Association)
Merrion Square, Dublin 2.