THE FREE STATE HOUSING PROGRAMME

Faoi 1932 bhí daonra an tSaorstáit beagnach faoi bhun 3 mhilliún agus bhí aon trian den daonra ina gcónaí i gceantair uirbeacha. Tógadh 25,530 teach de bharr tacaíocht ó scéimeanna státmhaoinithe sa chéad deich mbliana den Saorstát. Bhí díreach os cionn dhá thrian dóibh sin (17,164) curtha i gcrích ag daoine aonair príobháideacha nó ag cumainn tithíochta, agus an t-aon trian eile (8,376) tógtha ag údaráis áitiúla. In ainneoin na géarchéime sluma, ba é príomhaidhm na tréimhse seo tús a chur le tógáil tithe ar fud na tíre.

I ndiaidh béim athnuaite ar réiteach slumaí sna 1930idí, tháinig méadú ar luas na tógála tithe. Cuireadh beagnach 34,000 áit chónaithe nua ar fáil i 88 ceantar uirbeach idir 1932 agus 1939, ar thóg na húdaráis áitiúla níos mó ná dhá thrian dóibh (23,142). Laghdaíodh plódú agus leagadh os cionn 11,000 teach a bhí do-áitrithe.

By 1932 the Free State’s population was slightly under 3 million, of whom one-third lived in urban areas. In the first decade of its existence, state-aided schemes had supported the construction of 25,530 dwellings. Just over two-thirds of these (17,164) had been completed by private individuals or public utility societies, with the remaining one-third (8,376) built by local authorities. In spite of the crisis in slum accommodation, kick starting house construction across the country had been the key aim of this period.

Typical cul-de-sac in a local authority housing scheme. Note the original railings around each property. This is part of Crumlin Section 6. Courtesy of G. & T. Crampton Archive / Joe Brady.

Layout of St. Joseph’s Park, Nenagh. When it opened in 1936 the 111 house ‘slum clearance’ scheme was described as ‘a new town in miniature’ which increased the town’s housing stock by over 10%.

This was an important achievement in the context of the time. As one US-based writer explained: ‘Here then is a small region, with limited resources, reborn in the third decade of the 20th century as a self-governing state, carrying over as a heritage from centuries of ‘trouble’ a huge burden of poverty …retaining what is good from law and policy of the later years of British control, the present Irish Government is proceeding to advance those material and physical comforts for the masses of the people…’2

Following renewed emphasis on slum clearance in the 1930s, the pace of house construction increased. Almost 34,000 new dwellings were provided in 88 urban areas between 1932 and 1939, of which more than two-thirds (23,142) were built by local authorities.Overcrowding was reduced and over 11,000 condemned houses were demolished.

The houses at St. Joseph’s Park, Nenagh, were built of mass concrete with slate roofs. Each house had electric light and a plot of land for gardening and vegetable production.

The new schemes were not without their problems. Despite the best efforts of the authorities, rents were often beyond the means of the poorest families from the slum clearances. It also took time for new communities to become established and for services to catch up with housing, especially in the bigger estates. Nevertheless, the new housing stock was comfortable, spacious and sanitary and brought with it a new basic standard of public health in urban areas.

State policies in the 1920s and 1930s, implemented through the mechanisms of local government, led to a transformation of Ireland’s housing landscape. Nationally, the picture is impressive, although it was acknowledged that much remained to be done by the time that World War II, known as The Emergency in Ireland, slowed construction work.

Overview of housing completions in the Free State, 1922-1940, showing local authority houses and those completed by private persons and public utility societies with state aid.

1 Lily O’Connor (2000) Can Lily O’Brien come out to play? Brandon Press. The O’Brien family moved from the front room of a tenement house to a new corner house in Beggsboro, Cabra.

2 S.J. Brandenburg, Housing Progress in the Irish Free State, The Journal of Land and Public Utility Economics, 1932, 8 (1), p. 10.