Local councillor Denise Johnston says several people have contacted her regarding safety concerns
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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Unemployment has always been high in Derry and in 1966 when the Birmingham Sound Reproducers (BSR) factory closed and laid off 1000 workers, it drove the male unemployment rate to almost 20%.
Prospects for finding employment in Derry were slim and for many they headed to England in search of work. While some people felt representatives like Seamus Mallon were doing their best, others took matters into their own hands and formed the Derry Unemployed Action Committee.
The housing situation in Derry was equally grim. Satisfying housing needs required the construction of 500 new homes every year until 1981. However since 1963, only 55 houses have been built each year. The pressure on housing in Derry was greater than anywhere else in Northern Ireland and the pressure in the South Ward electoral divisions was much greater than anywhere else in Derry with many families living in dire conditions.
This episode of ‘Seven Days’ was broadcast on 12 December 1966. The reporter is John O’Donoghue.
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