6 MALAHIDE GAZETTE 6 September 2012
CS0 STUDY Fingal housing stock is over 100,000, with 7% vacancy rate
Census reveals rent drops and hike in jobless I LAURA WEBB lwebb@gazettegroup.com
THE total housing stock in the Fingal area is more than 100,000, with a 7% vacancy rate, according to a report compiled from the results of Census 2011. The report, named The
Roof Over Our Heads, was issued by the CSO last week, and examines housing in Ireland. It states that total housing stock in Fingal is 102,793. This includes 92,951 units occupied by residents of the household, 199 as visitors only, and 2,439 as residents
temporarily absent. Up to 4,070 are vacant houses and 2,823 are vacant flats, while 311 are holiday homes and the vacancy rate for the Fingal area is 7%. T he total average weekly rent for private households in permanent housing units in Fingal
was recorded at €182.66 in 2011, a 7% drop since the last census in 2006, when the average rent was recorded at €196.31. T he average local authority weekly rent in 2011 was recorded at €70.86, a 22.4% drop from 2006, when the average figure was €91.29.
For those living in a house owned by a private landlord or voluntary housing body, the average weekly rent is €208.97, a 12.5% drop from the last census, which was recorded at €238.75. Meanwhile, the number of mortgaged private households in
permanent housing units for Fingal is 43,811 on census night in 2011, 1,475 less than the 2006 census. Of the total, 36,303 residents were at work with a mortgage, compared to 39,695 five years before. Up to 2,857 were unemployed, a 334%
increase since the last census which recorded just 853 unemployed with a mortgage. Those with a mortgage not in the labour force number 4,651 in 2011, 87 fewer than in 2006. Further details relating to the report can be found at www.census.ie.
Local actor gets US Variety accolade MALAHIDE native Domhnall Gleeson has made US magazine Variety’s list of young actors to watch. The 29-year-old, most famous for his role as Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter franchise, is currently appearing in cinemas in the IRA thriller, Shadow Dancer. The local star has also recently finished filming the new Richard Curtis comedy, About Time, with Rachel McAdams in London. Actors who have made Variety’s list in previous years include Emma Stone, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence. Domnhall recently appeared in cowboy drama True Grit alongside Jeff Bridges, while comedy fans will be most famil-
iar with his work from the RTE series, Your Bad Self. The eldest son of The Guard star Brendan Gleeson, with whom he is soon set to work with in John Michael McDonagh’s Calvary, Domnhall is also soon to appear in upcoming films including Anna Karenina and Dredd, which are both set to be released this year. His brother, Brian, is also an actor and appeared in RTE’s acclaimed series, Love/Hate. Gleeson won a Tony award in 2006 for his role in Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant Of Inishmore on Broadway. He will be honoured by the magazine at the New York Film Festival next month.
Why advertise with the Gazette? Let our advertisers tell you why:
“
As a community bank, we have a strong focus on local profiling and brand visibility. Our partnership with the Dublin Gazette Newspapers delivers on this requirement. Our sponsorship of the Business Page, as well as the editorial content that the paper provides for our local events, results in the Gazette being an essential channel in our local communications strategy.
“
B E C A U S E L O C A L M AT T E R S
Local TD James Reilly says he is delighted that Fingal will finally have access to high-speed broadband
TECHNOLOGY: MINISTER ANNOUNCES UPGRADE PLAN
Rural Fingal to get faster broadband I SUZANNE BYRNE
RURAL areas of Fingal are expected to be the beneficiaries of the rollout of high-speed broadband which was announced by Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte last week. When it reaches its planned completion date in 2015, the scheme will see every home and business in the State having access to broadband at speeds much faster than are generally available at the moment. Health Minister and Dublin North TD James Reilly said: “I am delighted with [the minister’s] announcement that Fingal will finally have access to high-speed broadband, particularly in rural areas. “Ireland’s population
is more broadly dispersed than that of many other countries so reaching the target will require State investment to encourage the private sector to offer services which would not otherwise make commercial sense. “[The announcement] means that individuals and businesses will have access to a minimum of 30 megabytes per second (mbps), with more than half the population receiving between 70mpbs and 100mpbs by 2015.” Minister Rabbitte unveiled Delivering A Connected Society – A National Broadband Plan for Ireland in Croke Park last Thursday. Mr Rabbitte said the rollout was a crucial aspect of economic recovery, adding that he had
been told by the IDA that companies had decided against investing in Ireland because of below-par broadband provision. It is understood Taoiseach Enda Kenny has committed to providing State funding of €200 million along with matching investment from private companies. It is expected that clearance from the European Commission for State aid will be necessary to ensure public funds are not substituting for potential private sector investment. Public funds are expected to come from the Exchequer, the sale of State assets and other resources such as the National Pension Reserve Fund. “Public funds will be invested in the plan to ensure that sparsely populated areas are included
and Minister Rabbitte has committed to engaging with commercial investors for financial,” said Minister Reilly. “In this day and age, having access to highspeed internet is a basic requirement for people in all walks of life, be they school children, college students, professionals and small and big businesses. “It will enable the people of Dublin North to compete on a much wider scale, and give them access to information, products and ser vices right across the world, bringing economic and social benefits across Fingal,” he added. Minister Rabbitte has described the plan as the “rural electrification of the 21st century”.