Maybe you are like me and this morning received a copy of the March 2008 newsletter from Dublin City Council listing properties throughout the city which will be available for purchase under the affordable housing scheme. There are a variety of properties on offer in Dublin 1, 2, 17 and the Docklands (that’s Dublin 1 and 2 I suppose)

I say available for purchase – not without having your teeth pulled.

First you have to enter into a draw along with thousands of others having expressed your preferences, then you have to get picked out, then you have to be made an offer, then you have to show you are entitled to the offer, then you have get mortgage approval, then you get to see the property! Then you choose to accept or reject.

And the thing that really hit me beyond the lack of information on what will be in the actual properties themselves fittings and spacewise – the majority of the properties listed in the newsletter do not have car parking spaces – so they don’t expect people to have cars for the next 20 years (the length of time one would have to own it before not being penalised by the state for selling it) or am I missing something here?? I completely get that one might not need a car to get around town but you may well own one for other reasons, like traveling or working outside of the City, shopping, mobility issues, transporting children and older people.