Specialists from 19 countries complete a five day visit to Ireland looking at housing developments.
Members of the Economic Commission for Europe Housing Committee have been touring housing developments throughout Ireland over the past week. The experts from Russia, Sweden, the USA and Israel give their impressions of Irish housing.
Chairman of the group Professor Pavel Blokhin from Russia is complimentary of efforts made by the Irish government in the provision of housing for the Irish people.
Swedish Sociologist Brita Akerman Johannson describes the relationship between houses and they way people live.
I think it is impossible to understand housing if you don't look at the way people are living in their houses.
In Sweden, many studies have been carried out into people's living habits. Brita Akerman Johannson is grateful for the opportunity to meet some Irish families and gain an insight into how they live in the context of the Irish housing situation. She is also impressed with the architecture of Irish housing.
The design of the new houses is very fine indeed.
Mr Rose from the USA says that great strides have been made in slum clearance and is also complimentary of Ireland's efforts in urban renewal. The US is also experiencing problems of urban decay and Mr Rose has learnt much from the Irish experience. He believes that urban renewal should be achieved through renovation of existing buildings wherever possible.
I think the redevelopment on a human scale doesn't have an institutional atmosphere as so many urban renewal developments do.
In terms of rural development, Yehuda Tamir, Director of Housing in Israel, was quietly impressed by the large vacant areas in the west of Ireland, which is similar to Israel. He believes these rural areas can be developed by giving more land to the people and raising the standard of living and helping to avoid rural depopulation. In Israel, the government is providing homes to people in rural areas through a rental scheme.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 13 June 1962. The reporter is Anne Binchy.
