Imposing tenure mix on residential neighbourhoods: A review of actions to address unfinished housing estates in the Republic of Ireland

The ‘Celtic Tiger’ years (1995-2007) saw prosperous economic growth in the Republic of Ireland and an intense period of housing construction and urban development. In 2008 Ireland entered into recession, which resulted in a collapse of the property market and the construction industry. This collapse left just over 2,000 housing developments unfinished across the country. Since 2008, the Irish Government, in conjunction with local authorities, has been developing strategies and plans to finalise these unfinished estates. This paper reports on the current practices for resolving issues in unfinished housing estates in the Republic of Ireland, with a particular focus on the plans to utilise empty housing for social housing purposes. The paper critiques the ways in which this imposed tenure mix threaten housing policy objectives for sustainable and balanced communities. It is the contention of this paper that this housing practice needs urgent review, as the recent hasty reversal of housing policies in Ireland, without due consideration for the consequences, has had a detrimental effect on neighbourhood cohesion.