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Thinking Out Loud A Seminar Series to Discuss Work in Progress

Join the seminar to discuss economic and housing inequalities across the lifecourse, with presentations on tenure disparities and property-related incomes. Address challenges and solutions in public housing implementation and communication, reflecting on past experiences and values. Explore the political economy, work, and social inequalities cluster on March 6th at the Resource Room, Auxilia Building, from 2-3pm. Contact sean.oriain@mu.ie for details.

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Thinking Out Loud A Seminar Series to Discuss Work in Progress

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  1. Thinking Out Loud A Seminar Series to Discuss Work in Progress Two short presentations followed by 25 minutes of constructive discussion Economic and Housing Inequalities across the Lifecourse Housing Tenure Inequalities in Childhood Dr. Delma Byrne (Sociology) Property-related Incomes and Inequality within the ‘Rentier Class’ Dr. Eoin Flaherty (Sociology) Resource Room, Auxilia Building, 2-3pm, Weds 6th March Political Economy, Work and Social Inequalities Cluster Department of Sociology and MUSSI; sean.oriain@mu.ie

  2. A new vision and new practice for public housing: implementation & communication Communicating a new model for public housing Dr Mary Murphy

  3. Reflecting on experiences • Who is communicating to who? • What is being communicated? • What experiences of communicating? • A number of problems and solutions? • Experiences over last two decades • Residualisation – arms length transfer • Fear of culture of entitlement • Defensive political and policy system • Reality of defending a poor public housing model

  4. Problem 1: low value of Irish Local Government legal protection, organisational autonomy, iinstitutional depth, fiscal autonomy, financial self reliance, borrowing autonomy, ffinancial transfer system, and aadministrative supervision, central or regional access

  5. ‘4 Dead hands’ strangling ‘public’ and ‘local’ Forsa 2019 – March 20thBuswells • Public – not popular in era of marketization • Local authority delivery severely challenged - • Making it local; the case for public control and delivery of local services and infrastructure • Post austerity: Restoring public democracy and public services

  6. Problem 2 Values – Rice (2013)

  7. Problem of values • Irish values stress a belief welfare should be residual (about need) • People also believe, conservatively, those who can find work should work but that not everyone can or should work (so people do care) • Focus on responding to deserving need • Reflected in different social policy issues • AsylumThorton (2019)‘doing same thing’, expecting different results’ • Repeal – people are caring and want to help – ‘caring and compassionate’ • Housing need not rights/entitlement – you need to do what you can • Constitutional convention – fear of ‘culture of entitlement’ … ironic

  8. Political battle: A tale of two Eoin/Owens Assumptions underpinning policy Urban and rural myths 1980s residualisation real and seriously damaged case for large scale ‘public’ People moving in to EA and/or refusal of offers (Murphy) ‘Build it and they will come’ (Keegan) Local Authority Workers, Trade Unions, DEASP officials, NGOs - Public • Policy makers assume processes of rational economic decision- gaming’  and ‘nesting • Neglect gendered moral rationality • Evidence counters myths • People coming from private rental sector (Eoin O’Sullivan 2019) • Owner occupation levels (O’Connor 2019) • Problem – fits into underlying value system

  9. Problem 3: how to defend the Irish public housing model

  10. Shift from ‘Bricks to Benefits’ – Norris and Hayden (2018) • Long term trend – before the crisis • Ideology, commodification and privatisation • Management challenges associated with residualisationof social housing, hot potato • Limited political power of those in need of housing and prospective tenants • NGO’s/ABH - not necessarily public housing • Sustainability, affordability, efficiency, viability, value for money of Irish council housing (Norris and Hayden, 2018).

  11. What is wrong Rental system Tenant rights Right to buy at up to 60% discount and sales needed to fund ongoing purchase and maintenance. Successor/inheritance policy Lack of diversity in options Imaginative downsizing options - changes in letting and right to buy. • Differential rent system inconsistent, averages (€50.63 pw 2015) • Insufficient revenue to fund maintenance and upgrade of dwellings, incentivises voids - councils wait for central funding • Rent in a cost rental model (with HAP subsidy)

  12. Root & Branch reform of public housing model • 1980’s shift to central capital grants for council housing is slow, unnecessarily bureaucratic and pro-cyclical • Inefficiencies in housing, land procurement and staffing • No stable local sources of local funding, (property tax system redistributes revenue from high need urban to low need rural local authorities) • Cost rental: IGEES: HAP works in rural context but not in high demand urban – no national model

  13. The old model A new model

  14. Shift in language: So what are we communicatingA new public housing model? what is future model? • Does it appeal to values • Back to the future? • 100 years of public housing – remember model for first 50 years

  15. Postcard view, Ferguson Road HOUSING: Drumcondra Estate, Dublin Corporation, 1927–29

  16. HOUSING: Drumcondra Estate, Dublin Corporation, 1927–29

  17. TOWNSHIP: Public Buildings – Drumcondra Grand Cinema (now Tesco) and Library (1937)

  18. Conclusions • A question of values, - valuing role of local/public, wider set of central/local reforms • What new model of public housing = unitary system based on a cost rental with HAP available to all public, social and private tenants, what else? • Building on 100 years of public housing – clear role of state, 350k houses, Vienna, Helsinki, Sweden, 1,000,000 homes 1965-1974 • Imagination: Tap into values: 1870’s – ‘Three Fs’ Fair Rent, Fixity of Tenure, Free Sale (tenant equity, inside/outside,a tenant could recoup investment in holding from owner or new tenant, works well in Irish value system ….)

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