A Lot Counted, More to Count
The year is 2011, the month is February.
Fine Gael under the leadership of Enda Kenny receive over 36% of first preferences votes. This translates to over 45% of Dáil seats in the 2011 General Election.
Historical Housing List Demand
It is now March and the 2011 Housing assessment report has been published. It contains important historical social housing data.
The report counts the Net Housing Need, 31st March, 2011 as 98,318, this is an almost a doubling of demand based on the 2008 figure of 56,249, or a 74% increase the highest figure ever recorded.
Another fascinating historical insight awaits in the form of social housing demand data which goes back to 1993. A very different Ireland. See the 2011 column – Did the housing list mature around this period into the Housing List For All we know and love today?
42,069 extra households added in 2011
What accounts for the record surge in 2011 social housing demand?
Firstly the property price asset bubble had burst a few years previously and was still in the process of unwinding. This caused immense housing hardship across the entire Irish economy for all during this period, but without all the data to fill the gaps for previous years it is hard to fully analyse exactly what caused this massive surge in demand with total surety.
However the 2011 report carefully counts one of the major demand pressure centres that is becoming more recently understood by the Irish public at large as to be an important factor, namely the non-irish component or non-irish social housing demand.
29% of Social Housing Demand is Non-Irish
| Local Authorities, Co. Council & Town Councils | Irish Citizen | EU citizen | Non EU citizen | Total |
| 2011 | 69301 | 19855 | 9162 | 98318 |
Recently the idea of even asking about the “non-irish” numbers on the housing list became hugely controversial. With some even claiming that to do so would be to support the far-right (the only concern should be that any data is right as in accurate and open for inspection).
Demonstrated in the Fingal council chamber when newly elected councillors daftly attempted to spoof a vote against releasing already publicly released data – the mind boggles.
Now back to 2011 – a calmer time when the cries of far-right this and far-right that were a distant hysterical decade away, but at the same time the housing list experienced the most intense demand load ever.
The Non-Irish social housing demand for 2011 represented 70% of the net increase of 42,069 in 2011 on the previous 2008 figure. In other words, 42,069 extra household appeared on the housing list overnight and 29% of total demand came from the the Non-Irish group.
While there is no straight line cause and effect, it would be daft to ignore the proportional effect of a substantial source of demand pressure.
One that is equally able to access social housing supports as a clearly defined subgroup in direct competition with ordinary Irish people. A group that the so called Government of Ireland have a direct hand in controlling it’s size vis a vis immigration controls but would prefer the Irish would stop noticing.
The bottom line is – current and previous Minsters for Justice and enterprise to name but two are as big a factor in how Irish housing policy and social housing allocation performs as are the housing minster or supply and demand fundamentals.
Social Housing Demand by Citizenship, 2011 – 2023
| Irish citizen | Non (all) | Non % | EAA citizen | UK citizen* | Non EEA citizen | |
| 2011 | 69301 | 29017 | 30% | 19855 | 9162 | |
| 2013 | 63674 | 26198 | 29% | 18918 | 7280 | |
| 2016 | 65835 | 25765 | 28% | 18710 | 7055 | |
| 2017 | 62,062 | 23,737 | 28% | 17,228 | 6,509 | |
| 2018 | 53,611 | 18,247 | 25% | 13,432 | 4,815 | |
| 2019 | 52,125 | 16,568 | 24% | 12,310 | 4,258 | |
| 2020 | 48,092 | 13,788 | 22% | 10,115 | 3,673 | |
| 2021 | 46,306 | 12,941 | 22% | 9,134 | 3,807 | |
| 2022 | 44,707 | 13135 | 23% | 8,605 | 320 | 4,210 |
| 2023 | 43,817 | 15007 | 26% | 8,822 | 554 | 5,631 |
Non-EEA are Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Co.
Like a Calais truck driver destined for Rosslare doing a last minute inspection before we set sail we find that even in the 2011 report refugees and asylums seekers are hiding in the data as the Non-EEA subgroup of the Non-Irish demand cohort.
| Local Authorities, Co. Council & Town Councils | Refugee | Permission to remain in the State | Subsidiary protection status | Total |
| 2011 | 821 | 8314 | 27 | 9162 |
The totals for Non-EEA citizens are compromised of a mix of refugees, those with “Permission to remain in the state” and also those with “subsidiary protection status”.
As a grouping alone in 2011 they accounted for almost ten thousand households.
Enda Kenny remained leader of Fine Gael through 2011, until in 2017 he was replaced by Leo Varadkar who beat Simon Convney in a Fine Gael leadership contest.
What were you doing in 2011 if not applying to the Housing List for All?
- Local Living For All The World
- HOUSING LIST FOR ALL
- All Aboard, The Housing List
- Housing List Application by Nationality 2023
- Fingal Housing List Applications by Citizenship (2011 – 2023)
Sources: From the Housing Agency Housing Assessment reports 2011 and various others.