Sir, – One of the issues that has bedevilled debate about Dublin's skyline is a classic confusion over the meaning of language and, in particular, the equation of "high-rise" with "high-density". Eugene Callan's letter (August 24th) is merely the latest example of this conflation of terminology. In it, he writes that "the Irish love affair with the semi-detached house with front and back gardens seems to have come about because of some disastrous examples of high-density housing such as the Ballymun towers".
This is simply not true, on both counts. For a start, the Irish “love affair with the semi-detached house” long predates the development of Ballymun in the late 1960s; for decades, indeed, semi-detached houses with front and back gardens had become the norm for suburban housing in Ireland, as in England, and can trace its lineage back to the Garden City movement that promised “fresh air” and relief from the congested, often slum-like conditions in central city areas. Ballymun turned this upside down.
Secondly, the characterisation of this disastrous experiment as “high-density housing” is merely a canard repeated so often that many people, not just Mr Callan, have come to believe it to be true. In fact, Ballymun was a low-density housing scheme. Its seven system-built 15-storey towers (named after the signatories of the 1916 Proclamation) and 19 eight-storey slab blocks were “high-rise” by any definition, but they were laid out in an open parkland setting, in an Irish version of the anti-urban vision promulgated by Le Corbusier.
The 3,000 residential units in this brave new world of 1960s planning were built on a site of nearly 300 acres. The density works out at roughly 10 units per acre, which would have been only marginally greater than the standard density of suburban housing at the time. In other words, had the impetus not been to “aim for the sky” – as then minister for local government Neil Blaney was doing – the entire population of Ballymun could easily have been accommodated in semi-detached houses with front and back gardens on the same site. – Yours, etc,
FRANK McDONALD,
Temple Bar,
Dublin 2.
Sir, – Eugene Callan asserts that the “Jones family” residing in a city apartment has arguably a better quality of life that the “Smith family” living in a house in a commuter town.
There has been a long-standing assumption that young people will all be satisfied with the notion of raising their future families in apartments within Dublin, despite the fact that this is a considerable departure from the norm (that of living in houses) under which they themselves were reared. There has never been a serious exercise in relation to democratic input to ascertain whether young professionals, now and into the future, are actually happy with this approach.
Accordingly, there ought to be more public consultation conducted officially with an ambition to compile feedback in developing a new architectural vernacular document for Dublin, similar to the London Housing Design Guide compiled in 2010. At present, the future construction design of accommodation of Dublin would be led too much by the initiation of the proposals of developers acting independently. A new agreed vernacular could incorporate uniform guidelines on design, with a view to enhancing living standards based upon actual receipt of more feedback from the people likely to reside in such future accommodation. – Yours, etc,
Cllr JOHN KENNEDY,
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown
County Council,
County Hall,
Marine Road,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Daft.ie has reported that Dublin’s rents had surpassed Celtic Tiger levels. It documents 3,600 available rental properties compared to 11,000 listings in 2012.
A little-commented on factor in this crisis is the impact of short-term rental sites such as Airbnb. Many would-be landlords have instead migrated to this lightly regulated and more profitable arena. A glance at available rentals for Dublin city centre for December 2016 on the Airbnb website reveals more than 300 listings of full apartments (that is, not simply unoccupied rooms in otherwise occupied residences). I might also note the search algorithm stops counting at 300 and available apartments may be substantially higher.
This cannot be allowed to continue. Private property serves a public purpose also. The removal of so much real estate from the rental market is unquestionably driving up rents significantly and making it more difficult for tenants to find suitable accommodation.
The Government should enact whatever laws or regulations are necessary to make it illegal or impractical for this kind of leasing to continue. The duties of the Government towards providing accessible and affordable accommodation to its own citizens far outweigh the needs of tourists and a small number of landlords.
A recent crackdown on Airbnb by the city of Berlin reduced listings by 40 per cent overnight. A similar move here would not be the end of the issue of rising rents but would unquestionably be a huge benefit. It would also provide immediate relief for renters, unlike other proposals which would take years to make any significant impact. – Yours, etc,
EANNA COFFEY,
Killarney, Co Kerry.
Sir, – Fiona Reddan's excellent article "Mortgages and millennials: new rules creating a 'lost generation' of homebuyers" (August 24th) should be required reading for all politicians. Sky-high rents, lending institutions that won't actually lend, and a shift away from permanent jobs to contract work are all factors that put younger citizens on the back foot when it comes to buying a property. – Yours, etc,
ANNE BYRNE,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.