After years of waiting will people finally get to move into homes in the newly created Dublin suburb of Donaghmede?
The residential Dublin suburb of Donaghmede has been created by Dublin Corporation from land held in Raheny, Baldoyle and Coolock. In addition to housing, the district will have a shopping centre, church and schools and 12 acres of land will be used for amenities.
For Dublin families in poor housing conditions, the development is a godsend. In 1969 Dublin Corporation advertised the sale of the Donaghmede houses in the press. It received 4,300 applications for 1,128 houses.
Houses were allocated in three public draws held between 1969 and 1970. Using this method of allocation, Dublin Corporation had purchasers lined up for when houses were ready and it gave the purchasers time to save for a deposit.
People buying the homes from Dublin Corporation will get them several hundred pounds cheaper than on the open market. This is because of a special bulk buying deal between Dublin Corporation and the builder the Gallagher Group. Since the show house at Donaghmede was opened in 1969, the houses have gone up in price from £3,900 to £4,100.
In August 1969 house purchasers believed they had two weeks to move into their homes, but they are still waiting to move in. Two men allocated houses in Donaghmede have been told the delay is because the Corporation is awaiting the keys to be handed over to them from the builder. Also faults in the houses need to be corrected.
Dublin Corporation says the delay around moving in is because the houses are not yet finished. When the houses were allocated, the City Manager made a statement alerting applicants to the fact that the houses would not be ready for quite some. He also informed potential purchasers of the prices variations clause. It is unreasonable to believe house prices and labour costs will remain static over time.
The Gallagher Group say the houses will be ready within the next seven days,
But the would be householders of Donaghmede have heard that many times before, will it actually happen this time?
This episode of 'Newsbeat' was broadcast on 11 November 1970. The reporter is Michael Ryan.
