Sir, – Reading Cllr John Kennedy's letter (May 24th), in which he calls on the Government to address the flaw in the amendment to the Planning and Development Act (Large-scale Residential Development), which excludes apartments from its scope, the result of which is the vast majority are put beyond the average citizen, I was expecting to see the councillor's party affiliation to be Sinn Féin, PBP or the Social Democrats. But no, Mr Kennedy is a member of Fine Gael, which just happens to be in power for over a decade now overseeing this general housing policy mess. It seems Fine Gaelers have learned an old Fianna Fáil trick well over the decades they spent on the Opposition benches; when in Government and things get hairy, make noises as if you are a disgruntled, powerless member of the Opposition. – Yours, etc,
JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Sligo.
Sir, – Fiona Reddan asks why are so few Irish people are buying new apartments (Business, May 21st).
For the past 47 years, on and off, I have worked and lived in Sweden. During this time, I have lived in seven Swedish towns. I have rented or owned 13 apartments, ranging from a so-called “bedsit” to a three-bed apartment. All these places have been “my home”, not least because when considering an apartment in Sweden it never enters one’s head to ask about storage. It is expected.
Whether in the cellar, or the loft, or both (which is often the case), every apartment has separate storage space. This is space for dry goods (clothes, bric-a-brac, books, artworks) and space for “stuff” (unused bicycles, prams, tools, suitcases) all of which make apartment living truly “home”.
Older apartment buildings often have a shared laundry and drying room, diligently booked by the hour, by “co-operating” neighbours. Separate, shared, cellar spaces would also provide for bicycles and prams, when in use.
The first thing that strikes one on entering an Irish apartment is the bicycle in the hall, suitcases taking up space in the bedroom, and free space often choc-a-bloc with a drying rack. This is the reason apartments are not seen as “homes” in Ireland.
Catering for separate storage space in any Irish apartment block would, of course, reduce available space. This is a price worth paying.
Reduce underground garage space by 50 per cent and provide all apartment dwellers with ample, permanent storage space.
Change of attitude. Problem solved! – Yours, etc,
PEADAR MacGIOLLA,
Gävle,
Sweden.