So far this year, the newspapers have been concentrating on the housing crisis in terms of Social Housing requirements and the re-zoning of land in the Borough Council areas. But, to paraphrase Mr. Tony Blair, there is a third way.

Much of the building boom which brought prosperity to builders, developers and estate agents in recent years may be traced back to the tax incentives that were made available in the eighties for the building of good quality, reasonably priced rental accomodation, that is Section 23 development.

This was followed by section 27 of the Act, and in Dublin 4 we can see the products of that in developments such as Lansdowne Village and Fisherman’s Wharf.

In many cases, the people who were meant to benefit were the last ones to do so, if at all. Many of these tax-incentive developments were bought as bulk investment properties by landlords with loads of readies (remember, cash is in).

While the brake has now been applied, tax-wise, there is much that can be done to chip away at the crisis.

In 1798, the population of Dublin was 400,000. Today it is 1.6 million.

During the building boom of the late 1700’s Georgian Dublin, including Merrion and Fitzwilliam Squares were built.

But ordinary people lived in squalor until the introduction of Corporation housing in the early 1920’s.

At present, we have in Ireland probably the highest percentage of home-ownership in Europe, a good thing, since people have an interest in their area

However, prices have now gone over the top and solutions are needed.

Many older people live in houses they bought when times were good and floor areas of up to 2,500 square feet were not that uncommon.

However, while these owners might like to pass on the home that has been earned over decades and would be reluctant to sell and move away from familiar areas, the potential to house the next generation may well be there.

The subdivision of the home into modern apartments for use by themselves and their children might be accomplished if remodelling grants became available.

Building regulations might be relaxed a little with regard to density and the matter of extensions, provided these were tasteful and in keeping with the building period of the house.

In the event of such incentives being granted, limits to family income could be set.

A time limit of, say, ten years, precluding sale of such property, could be part of the conditions for the grant.

This would help to improve the building stock of older houses, and in many cases would be a great relief to pensioners, who do not have the money to repair their homes.

They might also welcome the proximity of a son or daughter living nearby while each household retained it’s own autonomy.