Daft Property - Irish Property News

Dublin joined in Global Earth Hour last night & lights were switched off all over the city... Ironically, though, the lights on top of Dublin's major landmark, The Spire, which are usually out of action, shone brightly during the event!

The Giant's Causeway or "Clochán na bhFómharach"... According to National Geographic reports the legendary Giant's Causeway, in Northern Ireland (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and top tourist destination,) is threated by rising sea levels. Giant's Causeway Video: (Legend has it that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland, but fell asleep before he finished it!)

With Dublin now suffering from major urban sprawl many developers are proposing building higher buildings. This makes sense but should have been started years ago before most of the greenbelt around the city was converted in bland, soulless housing estates. The U2 Tower, is a proposed landmark skyscraper, due to be constructed in Dublin (so called because of the involvement of U2 the rock band): The U2 Tower will be built in the South Docklands at the corner of Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Britain Quay by a unique meeting point of the River Liffey, the River Dodder, and the Grand Canal. The design was announced on October 12 2007 is by Foster and Partners (some of their other projects include Greystones New Quarter in Ireland, Millennium Bridge in London, Millau Viaduct Bridge in France to mention but a few.) The proposed Tower will consist of luxury apartments, with a public viewing platform at 100m, just below an egg-shaped pod that will be U2's recording studio. Above this i

More Fact is Fiction TV Reality or something... "Dodgy Developers, Corrupt politicians, Back Handers and a loss of faith in government, sounds like a normal episode of Law and Order to me! Why not cancel the Mahon Tribunal and let Law and Order sort it in an hour! (allowing for commercials of course!)"

There is growing concern over the new evidence emerging, from the Mahon Tribunal, about large sums of sterling that were lodged into an account that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had said was for his salary cheques. According to ireland.com today the Labour leader..." Eamon Gilmore said in a statement today that the tribunal hearings "raise yet more issues of profound seriousness for the Taoiseach". "We now know that far from being on his financial uppers in the early 1990s, Mr Ahern's myriad of accounts in various financial institutions were awash with money. It now also seems beyond dispute that, despite repeated denials by Mr Ahern, a number of lodgements to his accounts were in sterling. "It is now time for Brian Cowen and other senior figures to put loyalty to the country ahead of loyalty to their damaged party leader; it is time to bring this sorry saga to a conclusion, so that the Government and the Dáil can now concentrate on dealing with the huge social a

I came accross a report in Business Week Magazine about the Celtic Tiger... "Once the envy of Europe, Ireland's economy is set to grow this year at it slowest rate in two decades. The collapse of a housing bubble coupled with the strong euro is raising unemployment and slowing growth, reducing the Celtic Tiger's roar to a whimper. And the news keeps getting worse. More than $5.5 billion was wiped off the value of Irish stocks on Mar. 17, in what commentators have dubbed the "St. Patrick's Day massacre." "The Irish economy is heading into recession," says Alan Ahearne, an economist at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and a former senior economist at the U.S. Federal Reserve... It's not just about the global credit crunch, weak banks, or bearish stock markets. Rather, Ireland is at the tail end of a housing- and consumer-fueled boom—similar to that of the U.S.—and finds itself at the mercy of global trends such as inflation, wage-scale

With the Paddy's Festivities now over...it's back to reality! With Irish property prices crashing many people are now staying put. For those that wanted to move for space, getting an "extension" is now the big buzz. And the new thing is "going down under"!!! A Basement is the easy option to create a whole extra floor. Already common in many other parts of the world the basement option is totally new to Ireland - that's all about to change with the arrival of "The London Basement Company." Obviously a basement can be used for anything with multiple room options - some of the more creative have installed gyms, home cinemas and swimming pools etc. Like it!

Paddy's Day Dublin: This years theme is "Energy" so it should be good! The Paddy's Day Parade kicks off at 12 noon 17th March 2008: See it here live - Dublin Webcam

"Stagflation" says it all... "Brian Cowen's sloppy economic management has exposed Ireland to the risk of 'stagflation', a lethal combination of a stagnant economy and rising inflation," according to Fine Gael's Richard Bruton.

Parade Video: More daft news...The bubble has burst - The Irish housing market and economy is now on major downturn, property prices are crashing, unemployment the highest in years, recession looms, etc - but, hey, let the party continue! Yes it's now "St Paddy's 5 Days" over here - Ireland's National Holiday, St. Patrick's Day, now runs from March 13th to 17th! Enjoy!

Another look at Ireland's daft Property Market In 2008... Property "bargains" in the news today: The Ivory Building Apartments, Dublin 2 prices cut... 1 Bedroom: 2007 €390,000 - now €299,500 2 Bedroom: 2007 €489,000 - now €429,500 3 Bedroom: 2007 €650,000 - now €525,000 Dunboyne Castle in Co Meath prices cut... Apartments 1 Bedroom: 2007 €285,000 - now €210,000 Apartments 2 Bedroom: 2007 €325,000 - now €249,000 Apartments 3 Bedroom: 2007 €365,000 - now €285,000 Houses: 4 Bedroom: 2007 €600,000 - now €499,000 According the Irish Times Newspaper, lower priced homes are selling, and "THE STRATEGY of dropping prices for new homes is increasingly paying off, proving that buyers love a bargain." ...They add that the price reductions have made property, in Ireland, "accessible for first-time buyers who until now have been holding off. Sure enough the bargains have come along, and at a greater discount than most people had expected. Expect to see even more develope

First it was the Leprechauns...now it's a Turkey... Yes Ireland's Eurovision Song 2008 will be sung by none other than Dustin the Turkey - (RTE's Eurosong Contest 2008 Winner!) "Irlande Douze Pointe" aka "Ireland Twelve Points". Watch the video: ...The Eurovision winner for sure!

More good news today? (...well for hopeful home buyers anyway!) Irish House prices look set to fall by at least 5pc in 2008. This is according to Austin Hughes (an IIB group Homeloans economist,) during a presentation on the housing market outlook in Ireland for 2008. He also added..."The housing slowdown has been a good bit more severe than I had anticipated."