Sir, - The prevalent attitude to house price inflation is one of acceptance of the inevitable. This attitude is, in my opinion, fuelled by the lack of initiative from relevant government departments, and by the false smugness of many house owners who seem to enjoy seeing the potential price of their houses increase to ever-greater levels.
This is a very foolish attitude, when what is happening is a particularly insidious form of hyperinflation. May I illustrate? If I had retired five years ago my lump sum would have purchased a reasonable-sized house in any part of Dublin. On my actual retirement last year, my lump sum scarcely amounted to a decent deposit in the current market.
What can be done and what is not being done? As a person who was involved in the housing "crisis" of the early 1970s, I can detect no sense of urgency to match that which launched the then Low Cost Housing Programme, subsequently renamed the Guaranteed Order Programme. It was shoestring stuff and significant errors were made, but such mistakes should not be repeated, especially in the current climate of better funding levels.
Local authorities appear to be helpless, as their house construction departments have been depleted and in some cases eliminated.
The Minister for Finance and his Department, in their lofty wisdom, have decided to throw oil on the fire by way of the recent individualised tax proposals. Aimed as they are at well-off couples (who constitute a significant element of the trading-up business) the combined effect of the Budget proposals and the recent wage agreement, will, I believe, lead to a minimum jump of £30,000 in the price of houses which come within the scope of such people.
While no final solution to this crisis will be guaranteed until such time as there are three houses for every two buyers, I would suggest the following:
1. Land within urban areas which is not being used for public purposes, as well as suitable blocks of land adjacent to such areas, should be zoned for residential use on strictly technical grounds. Once so designated, all such land should become rateable on a new valuation basis, i.e. land with real development potential.
2. Such zoning should be reviewed when half the original tranche is, or is about to be, developed.
3. If such rates prove prohibitive for any landowner, the local authority to have right of first refusal, or the rates can be deferred (with interest) until lands are sold.
4. Within the mix of permissible development from a planning point of view, an upper price limit should be put on each unit. This would mirror the upper size limit which was operated in the UK in the post-war period.
5. The large and well-resourced general construction companies should be recruited to the residential development drive by slowing down/temporarily banning such speculative development as hotels, shopping centres, office blocks, etc.
In short, acknowledge, declare and address this emergency before great hurt, financial ruin and massive unemployment are visited upon our society. -Yours, etc., Vincent McGauran,
Milltown, Dublin 6.