MANY Irish people are living in "poverty blackspots" characterised by crime, vandalism, drug addiction, poor environmental conditions and a lack of community structures, according to an official report.
The report, published today by the Department of the Environment, was prepared for submission to the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements - Habitat II - currently being held in Istanbul.
The report notes that almost two thirds of the Republic's population now lives in urban or suburban areas, with Dublin accounting for two fifths of the urbanised total. "During this century, Dublin has changed from a well defined, compact city to a more populous, more dispersed city region. In parallel with the growth of the urban fringe, there has been an emptying of the city centre . . leading in some areas to the disintegration of established communities."
Conceding that the capital had "metamorphosed" over the past 50 years into a "doughnut city", where only one in 14 Dubliners now live in its historic core, the report says that this pattern of development has been mirrored, on a lesser scale, in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.
Referring to the poverty blackspots, it says these "areas of localised deprivation" evolved as a result of a decline in unskilled employment, a concentration of low income groups, "sometimes occurring because of the operation of housing policies", and poor or inadequate provision of public services.
But the report points out that a key objective of the EU funded National Development Plan involves reintegrating the long term unemployed and other marginalised groups into the labour market by (among other measures) developing local enterprise and employment initiatives.
The report concedes that the urban renewal scheme first introduced in 1986 was "not sufficiently focused on pockets of severe dereliction" and it reproduces a table showing that Dublin's inner city still has 690 derelict sites, totalling 147 acres, as well as 3,820 vacant buildings.
It also admits the scheme resulted in an over emphasis on office development, rather than residential, and a bias towards the newly built rather than refurbishment. But it points out that the latest package of incentives was designed to "achieve more balanced forms of renewal".
The report cites the Temple Bar area of Dublin as a "distinctive" example of urban renewal. By March of this year, it says that a total of 131 new businesses had opened in the area, including 10 cultural centres, 39 restaurants and cafes, eight pubs, 43 shops, nine clubs and three hotels.
It also reviews policies on housing, community development and the urban environment in general. But while it notes that Ireland has the highest rate of home ownership in the EU, at 80 per cent, it does not mention the uniquely Irish form of suburbanisation bungalows in the countryside.
Referring to the travelling community, it says a special unit is to be established by the Department of the Environment to implement the strategy recommended by a Government task force to provide 3,100 "units of accommodation" for travellers, with the aid of a statutory consultative group.
