Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

There are some important positives in the proposal, such as the possibility of releasing the potential for new housing units above shops. It would be very positive if that were to provide good quality accommodation for those who need it and would also be of benefit if it were to bring people into cities, towns and villages that have a vibrancy during the day but become like a ghost town in the evening when shop shutters go down. To have people living in communities in those areas would benefit those towns and villages.

The purpose of this meeting is not so much to look at the broad positives but to try to tease out potential difficulties in the Bill and I will concentrate on that aspect. We have concerns in regard to the fast-tracking of planning. There is a danger that there could be a lowering of standards, which are important, and particularly so in respect of fire safety. We do not want any more scenarios such as that in Priory Hall.

A particular issue on which we want more discussion is that of subdivisions being exempt from planning permission. We do not want there to be very small units or to have the return of the bedsit by another route. We want to hear more about that issue and have it debated. We would be more in favour of using compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, than nudging owners into releasing the units.

As regards inspections, Deputy Cowne referred to approved inspectors, which seems to point towards the possibility of outsourcing inspections such as, for example, that one would have inspectors on three-year contracts and outsource the work in that respect. The inspectorate should be composed of local authority employees. There are 60 inspectors for private sector accommodation nationwide, which is ridiculously low and has recently been debated in the Dáil. We proposed that the number of inspectors should quickly be brought up to 500 to 750. There is no reason that a local authority inspectorate of that kind could not take this issue under its wing as part of its remit rather than outsourcing inspections, which we would oppose.

We are positively disposed toward the Bill and want it to progress but some issues need to be addressed, in particular regarding fast-tracking, fire safety, subdivision of units and the inspectorate.