Dublin woman Ms Betty Byrne is in her late 40s, but has never lived in a house. Her home has always been a flat, first the notorious Sheriff Street complex and later a 15-storey tower block in Ballymun which is still home to her and her husband Thomas.
But not for much longer. The couple's dream of having a house is about to be realised thanks to the Ballymun Regeneration Programme, under which the residents of all 2,820 flats in the area will be re-housed in apartments, bungalows and semi-detached houses.
Betty and Thomas hope to get the keys of their two-bedroom bungalow, which is under construction, in August. They donned hard hats, wellingtons and fluorescent jackets to visit the building site at Coultry Way on Saturday where they got a sneak preview of their new home.
Betty was excited when she saw she would have an open fire in the living room and gardens front and rear.
For over 20 years they have lived on the 12th floor of the Thomas McDonagh Tower in Ballymun. The lifts were often broken, but the days of climbing stairs will soon be over.
"I never thought the day would come when I would move out of the flats. I had done my life sentence there," Betty said.
She feels she will be the envy of friends in her new home.
Her new neighbour will be Ms Mary Masterson, a young mother. They met for the first time on Saturday. Mary was equally looking forward to the move, having lived in a block of flats for 13 years.
"This is brilliant because with the way house prices are going - they're scandalous - I couldn't afford to go out and buy a house. I'm so lucky," she said.
Mr Stephen Quinn and his wife Pauline have lived in the Coultry Road flats complex for 12 years. "I'm dying for the move. We are getting a three-bed semi with a side entrance," said Pauline.
Stephen looks forward to having their private entrance. "Coming into the flats at night, there are always guys drinking cans and smoking joints. That is what has always bothered me. Anybody else wouldn't tolerate that at night in their driveway, so we'll be glad to get away from that," he said.
"We'll also have somewhere safe to park the car, some peace and quiet, and a better standard of living. We both grew up in houses so this will be like returning to normality.
Mr Eamon Farrelly, projects and contracts liaison manager, who organised the preview for the first 50 residents who will move in this summer said it was very rewarding to see the joy on their faces.
He said Ballymun Regeneration Ltd was constructing 622 homes in the first phase of regeneration, but all residents of the flats will be re-housed within seven years and all high-rise flats in the area demolished. A main street with shops, swimming pool, leisure centre, arts centre, offices and civic buildings is also planned. The housing will cost £350 million but when the shopping complex and a technology park are added, the overall cost will be £1.5 billion.
"It's an eight-year programme. We're trying to get 500 homes into the system every year and the first year is almost complete. We would also hope to be providing an additional 1,000 homes which will be available for private purchases or provided through voluntary housing associations or housing co-operatives," he said.
All residents will have the option to purchase their home from the local authority. "I'm quite confident already in talking to the various residents moving in that at least 50 per cent will be opting to purchase almost immediately when they move in. Some people already have arranged mortgages.
"The Celtic Tiger has hit Ballymun. Certainly in the three years we are out here you can see higher levels of car ownership. There are more demands now to have meetings at night-time because people are working during the day, so things are changing in Ballymun."