ABSTRACT
All forms of rented housing had begun to expand again by 1991, whereas owner-occupation had reached a plateau. Local authorities were no longer selling so much of their stock, as most of the best properties had gone and most tenants had insufficient income. The government has used local authority rented housing as a stepping-stone into owner-occupation. One-third of Ireland’s stock was built by local authorities, but over two-thirds of it has been sold to occupants. By the end of the 1980s a number of new housing problems were piling up in Ireland. Low-income owner-occupation was producing some serious strains in terms of meeting repayments and repair bills. Older inner-city areas were improving but private-rented accommodation was under pressure, worsening the homelessness situation. The economic boom of the 1970s and 1980s had tailed off and Ireland’s foreign debt situation had seriously worsened, leaving Ireland with a higher ratio of debt to income than most other EC countries.
