Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 December 2015
202. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware of reports of land hoarding taking place in the Dublin area in respect of land zoned for housing, if this is a factor in the depressed supply of housing, why he wrote to the chief executives of the four Dublin local authorities in June 2015, advising them not to rezone any further land for housing; and if he will review this advice. [44422/15]
View answerI refer to the reply to Question No 157 of 11 November 2015 which sets out the position in this matter.
I am not aware of reports of land hoarding referred to by the Deputy and, furthermore, I have not at any time directed the Dublin local authorities not to rezone additional lands for housing. However, Minister of State Coffey and I jointly wrote to the Chief Executives of the four Dublin Local Authorities on 10 June 2015 in the context of their role in preparing and finalising the development plans for their areas.
At that time my Department’s analysis and that of the Dublin Housing Supply and Co-ordination Task Force was that there was sufficient supply of land to meet immediate housing requirements and that proposals to zone any additional residential land would have to be strongly evidentially grounded and consistent with core strategies. We also strongly encouraged the four Dublin local authority Chief Executives and Councils to focus around practical measures that can be adopted in their development plan preparation and implementation processes to boost housing supply and ensure that good quality housing in suitable locations is available at affordable prices.
I firmly believe that increasing supply is key to addressing the range of housing issues we face today. The First Report of the Dublin Housing Supply and Coordination Task Force concluded that across the four Dublin authorities there is land immediately available with planning permission for development of 12,785 houses and 7,925 apartments, equating to circa. three years supply. A further 25,507 units were deemed permissible in the immediate to short term. A further study of additional zoned residential lands that could be brought on stream by the Task Force has identified specific infrastructural interventions to facilitate additional housing supply in the Dublin Region.
Therefore, a considerable array of work has been undertaken in identifying and profiling the availability of key sites and their current activity status across Dublin, all of which is accessible to the public on my Department’s website www.myplan.ie
In addition, and in the context of the Government’s “Stabilising Rents – Boosting Supply” interim package on housing, I have recently announced a range of initiatives to be implemented from January, including a targeted rebate of development contributions in Dublin and Cork for housing supplied under certain price levels, and revised statutory planning guidelines on apartment standards, to be issued under Section 28 of the Planning Act and given legal effect through the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2015, which will reduce the cost of apartment building in Dublin City by approximately €20,000 per unit, on average.
These measures combined with previous announcements, including streamlined Part V arrangements under the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 and the commitment by NAMA to fund 20,000 mainly starter homes in the greater Dublin area are visible demonstration of the Government’s commitment to, and investment in, measures that will enhance supply.
However, if in the near future a sufficient supply response is not forthcoming from a construction sector that has seen its development contributions substantially reduced or rebated altogether for starter homes, its Part V commitments streamlined and costs of construction reduced as part of new apartment standards, then I will be requesting local authorities to vigorously implement the Vacant Site Levy, which will come into force from 2019 and to take what further steps are possible to ensure the clear housing needs of citizens are met.
However, I am confident that as key loan portfolios are divested by financial institutions and receivers and major land banks such as in some of the Strategic Development Zones move into the control of new developers who are suitably financed and attuned to today’s market realities in terms of affordability, supply will recover.
The Government will remain vigilant in closely monitoring the market response.
