THE LATEST EXCEPTIONAL and insightful documentary on TG4 is set to air tonight.

100 Bliain de Thithíocht – Géarchéim gan Deireadh (100 Years of Housing – Crisis Without End) begins at 9.30pm tonight (October 25). It tackles the housing crisis, from the birth of the state to the modern day, contextualising the reasons behind the difficult current situation.

Through a combination of interviews from a wide-reaching group of experts and archive television footage from decades gone by, the doc paints a picture of what director and writer Paul Webster describes as “what went wrong and what went right,” when it comes to housing in Ireland.

Speaking on the documentary film, and the solutions offered within, Paul said, “It’s optimistic. We tried to give our experts a chance to say what they would do.”

It’s multifaceted, there’s no silver bullet. People like Peter McVerry and others looking at more specific issues, they all have ideas, and a lot of them are ideas that have worked before or newer versions, and newer thinking as well,” Paul added.

Each government since the 1920s has tried different solutions to house the population. From clearing out the tenement homes in Dublin to building high-rise flats in Ballymun during the 1960s, every generation in Ireland has had major problems with housing.

The main housing story of each decade is examined and contextualised for our understanding. Ireland was “essentially born in a housing crisis,” according to Paul, and has struggled to solve the issue for the last 100 years.

Lack of supply is providing a headache for many potential house buyers.

When we started looking at the archive, it was amazing to hear all these people talking about housing issues from 40 or 50 years ago, interviews with real people and politicians, councilors, and if you just close your eyes they could be talking about the same issues of today,” says Paul.

Looking back helps plan for the future, and there are many insights that audiences can derive from listening to the host of historians, architects, planners and thinkers’ insightful commentary on the big ideas and ideologies of housing in Ireland, from the bungalow to the suburbs.

The feature documents the influence of the Church and De Valera’s ideas around Ireland on government policy on housing. For example, the “peculiar fear of high density” held by the Church, says Paul, had a lasting impact on how governments approached housing.

Different solutions are offered in the doc to solve the ongoing housing crisis.

The documentary is simply a must-watch for those who wish to comprehend the housing crisis better. With well-qualified commentators such as Rory Hearne, Diarmuid Ó’Grada, Hugh Brennan and Peter McVerry, the feature is easily digestible and will provide a full summary of the housing crisis, as well as why we should be optimistic.

There’s so much to learn and there’s been so many great things done in this country, if we can go back to the spirit that was dominant back then, that government just has an obligation to build enough housing for the people, we can solve this crisis,” says Paul.

100 Bliain de Thithíocht – Géarchéim gan Deireadh airs on TG4 tonight at 9.30pm.

Catch up is available on the TG4 Player.