Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 April 2024
4. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the introduction of a specific zoning for affordable housing will be considered by this Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15883/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraFirst, I wish the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, the best on his appointment. No doubt it is a proud moment for his family and community.
The new Taoiseach, Deputy Harris, has conceded that the Government's housing targets are completely insufficient and that at least 50,000 new homes are needed each year. The only possible way we will get 50,000 homes every year is to make housing more affordable. One of the ways we can do that is with a measure such as introducing affordable housing zoning to reduce the price of land and the cost of housing. Will the Government introduce affordable housing zoning?
Under section 10 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, planning authorities are required, when making a development plan for their area, to include objectives for the zoning of land for the use solely or primarily of particular areas for particular purposes, which can include residential purposes. Section 95 requires that sufficient and suitable land is zoned for residential use, or for a mixture of residential and other uses, to meet the requirements of the housing strategy. Section 96 provides that, where applicable, a condition of planning permission shall require an agreement to be entered into with the planning authority under Part V in relation to the provision of social and affordable housing.
This approach, which is also reflected in the Planning and Development Bill 2023, is the appropriate means to support the delivery of affordable housing through the statutory planning process. We have discussed this at length during the Committee Stage debate on the Bill. I appreciate the engagement of all Deputies on that extensive Bill, which is still being debated. It would not be appropriate to designate the housing type or tenure to be attached to residential zonings as it would restrict the delivery of the mix of tenures needed to meet the diverse housing needs of local communities and the ability of those developing affordable housing to respond to the range of supports available across the area covered by the plan. As we discussed previously, it is through the housing strategy that local authorities can determine the types and mixes of housing they require in their functional areas.
It is disappointing that the senior Minister, Deputy O'Brien, generally does not answer the smaller parties during these Oral Questions on housing. He only answers Sinn Féin and he has responsibility for these issues. It is not the responsibility of the Minister of State with responsibility for biodiversity, with respect.
Can I respond to that?
I will give time later.
I do answer questions regularly. Do not misrepresent it.
No, no.
It is regularly the junior Ministers who answer.
The Government has missed all its targets on affordable housing. In the last election campaign, Deputy Darragh O'Brien promised 10,000 affordable homes a year. Last year, only 499 affordable purchase homes were delivered. When Social Democrats councillors on Dublin City Council proposed affordable housing zoning, it was rejected on the basis that there is no national legislation to back it up. When I introduced an amendment to the Planning and Development Bill so that there would be national legislation to back it up, the Government voted it down. Affordable housing zoning could be used to designate, for example, agricultural land when it becomes available for housing in order that it would be predominantly for affordable housing. It would stop windfall profits for land speculators and make housing more affordable. How can the Minister possibly oppose such a measure in the middle of a housing crisis?
We are way over time.
First, the Minister and two Ministers of State share the duties for responding to questions in the House. That has always been the case and the way we manage these questions.
He always answers Sinn Féin and rarely us.
Deputy, please.
I do not think that is the case.
If he is feeling let down, I will make sure I answer the Deputy next time.
To reiterate, and this was debated extensively during Committee Stage of the planning Bill, it is the responsibility of local authorities and the planning authority, which is included in the development plan. Local authorities are required to develop a strategy for the provision of housing for the existing and future population of their area. Section 95 of the 2000 Act further requires:
... a planning authority shall ensure that sufficient and suitable land is zoned for residential use, or for a mixture of residential and other uses, to meet the requirements of the housing strategy and to ensure that a scarcity of such land does not occur at any time during the period of the development plan.
Obviously, under section 96, the development of housing under Part V of the Act is included as well. As I recall during the debate, the issue the Deputy is seeking to try to raise again through this question-----
I thank the Minister of State.
The purpose of land use zoning in the development plan is-----
The Minister of State will get a chance to come back in. We are way over time.
-----to indicate the development plan objectives of the planning authority. Therefore, again, the function lies back with the local authority.
In the previous election, the Minister of State's party, the Green Party, talked about the Vienna model of housing.
It even got a reference to the Vienna model of housing into the programme for Government.
We did.
Vienna is ranked as the most liveable city in the world. A person can rent a new-build two-bed affordable apartment in Vienna for €627 per month. In Dublin, the equivalent is €1,400 per month. How do they achieve this in Vienna? One of the ways and one of the tools they use is affordable housing zoning, which ensures that a continuous supply of land is available at affordable prices for affordable homes. In the middle of a housing crisis and an affordability crisis, how can the Minister of State possibly stand with land speculators and against people who are trying to buy a home? Why are the Minister of State and the Government blocking a measure being brought forward by the Social Democrats for more affordable housing?
I remind the Deputy that his party voted against the Affordable Housing Act 2021 and Land Development Agency Bill 2021.
We did so because the Government did not have these measures in it.
As I recall, we did put the Vienna model into the programme for Government, and rightly so. It is being delivered through the cost-rental approach that has been developed by the Government. That is going to deliver over time. To reiterate, the issue the Deputy has sought to bring in through the planning Bill and again through this question relates to the function of the local authority around land use zoning in the development plan, to the housing strategy that local authorities deliver on and to the need to ensure they have the right mix of housing in their local authority functional area. That is where the responsibility lies, and we believe that is the correct measure and approach to it.
