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FEASTA LAND & HOUSING GROUP
Rampant inflation in land and house prices has been a defining characteristic of Ireland's 'Tiger Economy'. This trend has in several ways been beneficial for the Government parties, for developers, landowners, mortgage lenders, estate agents, private sector landlords and many property owners. At the same time the younger first-time buyer, tenants and the poor have suffered. Many young families are now heavily indebted for cheaply built houses located far from their workplace and from public/community facilities. Tenants are also paying exorbitant rents to live near their college or place of employment. Though much has been written about the housing crisis our policy makers and mainstream commentators have little to offer in terms of solutions it would seem.
The Feasta housing/land group has been established by members determined to address the complex challenge of housing provision in Ireland. The group aims to apply insights from the new economics, including environment taxes, and to develop proposals for housing policies which are sustainable, viable and socially just. If you would like to participate in our online discussions on land and housing, please visit our land forum.
Housing-related articles and multimedia from this website:
Articles are ordered with the most recent ones first.
Reclaiming the Commons Thursday 17th July 2008
Emer Ó Siochrú
QuickTime multimedia file, 52:50, 48.9 MB
This talk addressed destruction of 'the commons' - the vital but undefined resources that sustain life and civilisation that are under threat form the current system. It offered ideas about how they can be redefined, given legal protection within the market economy, their proper owners identified and champions assigned to manage and conserve them for current and future generations. The commons include the atmosphere, the oceans, surface and ground waters, aspects of land, genetic information, plant and animal diversity, scientific knowledge and culture.
Response to Irish Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government Consultation Call Feb 2008:
Sustainable Residential Developments in Urban Areas May 2008.
by Emer Ó Siochrú
In general, we welcome these Guidelines and Urban Design Manual as they comprise a good outline of current best practice, an improvement on the current situation. But we fear that the Guidelines are too late; they address an economic reality that is rapidly changing; they largely ignore pressures in rural areas and they are not ambitious enough to properly address the energy, climate and social challenges currently facing Ireland.
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PDF Version (175 K) |
From Recession to Renewables November 2006.
by Richard Douthwaite
The notion that curbing CO2 emissions would damage economic growth has been used as an excuse from developed countries such as the USA not to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy. However, the people of Austrian town Güssing are discovering firsthand that this couldn't be further from the truth.
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PDF Version (604 K) |
The Economic Challenge of Sustainability August 2006.
by Richard Douthwaite and Emer Ó Siochrú
This paper, which was written for CORI Justice, gives an overview of Feasta's ideas about economic growth, money systems, peak oil, and the need for a land value tax and for citizen carbon quotas.
Submission re Draft Guidelines for Development Plans July 2006.
This was submitted by Feasta to the Irish Department of the Environment in response to its recent consultation call with regard to Development Plans. The Department's Draft Development Plan is available on their website, in pdf format, and can be downloaded from this page.
The ENLIVEN Report October 2005.
The ENLIVEN project was undertaken by a partnership which was headed by Irish Rural Link, with Feasta as one of the contributors.
The project takes two small neighbouring communities in rural Ireland, chosen only because largish housing and other construction projects were being planned, and assesses their renewable energy potential. It then looks at how that potential can be realised in ways that would benefit everyone living in the communities at present and those who might move there in the future.
Land Value Tax: Unfinished Business November 2004.
by Emer Ó Siochrú
This paper is reprinted, with permission, from the book A Fairer Tax System For A Fairer Ireland, published by the CORI Justice Commission. The book also contains papers by Tom Dunne and Richard Douthwaite. It can be downloaded in its entirety from the CORI website, in PDF format, at http://www.cori.ie/justice/publications/papers/A_Fairer_Tax_System.pdf.
Response to 'Sustainable Rural Housing: Consultation Draft Of Guidelines For Planning Authorities' issued by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government 5th May 2004.
Submission on Rural Housing To the Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Local Government 6th November 2003.
From Before the Wells Run Dry, November 2003:
Moving towards zero-impact building materials
by Tom Woolley . Many of the'green' buildings being built at present aren't green at all. To stop using more resources than we can sustain, we really have to adopt different construction methods but even these should only be used if existing buildings cannot be adapted satisfactorily.
LAND: THE CLAIM OF THE COMMUNITY
This international conference was held at the Tara Towers Hotel, Booterstown, Dublin on 9th and 10th October 2003.
Conference briefing, prepared by Feasta together with the Henry George Foundation. The briefing examines the history of the Irish land question and its re-emergence in recent years.
Pamphlet on land value taxation, prepared for the conference
On Recovering the Sacred Income
Transcript of the talk given at the conference by Fred Harrison, director of the Centre for Land Policy Studies in the UK
Business problems, land solutions: the case for land and tax reform
Transcript of the talk given at the conference by Albert Catterall, Head of Economics, British Retail Consortium
Congestion charges
Transcript of the talk given at the conference by Dave Wetzel, Vice-Chair of Transport for London UK
Submissions to the All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution Concerning Property Rights
Submission from Feasta, 12 June 2003:
Submission from Tom Dunne, School of Real Estate and Construction Economics, Dublin Institute of Technology, 30 May 2003 (not a Feasta member):
Critique of Part V of the Irish Government's 2002 Planning and Development Act
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