Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Ó Broin made some excellent points and I have a similar view on the issue of heights and densities. To promote more sustainable living, develop better infrastructure and public transport, meet our climate change targets and create more vibrant cities and urban centres, we need more density, but how we do that needs to be realistic and should be decided locally. On Second Stage, I gave the Minister some examples from my constituency of where quite excessive planning permissions have been granted under the SHD process, which has resulted in areas that should be developed and built on and have homes delivered being considered unviable at present and possibly unviable for years to come. Rather than this having facilitated the delivery of homes, it has been holding that up.

Amendment No. 51 seeks to remove the ability of any Minister to undermine planning guidelines set at development plan or local authority level through those mandatory section 28 guidelines. It is welcome that the Minister said beforehand that this needs to be addressed. It should be done now with our amendments rather than delayed. There has been a lot of discussion in local communities about the problems of the SHD process. While the problem is known as the SHD process, the actual SHD legislation is just a part of it. Another part is the section 28 ministerial guidelines. Putting initial decision-making back with local authorities is very welcome but leaving these guidelines in place will lead to more problems and conflicts. The quicker we can address and correct this and bring it back to the way it was, the less conflict we will have through the planning process and we will also have more realistic and more viable planning permissions that can then be developed. This is a key problem. There has been a rake of speculative planning permissions and increased land values but this does not lead to homes being delivered because we are looking at densities and heights that simply cannot be supported. Where they can be supported, it is only through the investment fund build to rent model, which is skewing the level and type of supply in certain areas without bringing about the kind of mix all of us would be supportive of.