Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 914 seeks to delete section 224(2)(b) which gives local authorities the option of accepting houses in lieu of land. We cannot accept this proposed amendment as it is important for local authorities to have as many options as possible available to them when negotiating a Part V agreement, including the provision of houses off-site for reasons of affordability and suitability.

Amendment No. 916 seeks to delete the word “undue” in section 224. Once again, this provision was brought forward from the 2000 Act. A it is understood by the local authorities and working well, we cannot accept the amendment.

Amendment No. 917 seeks to delete section 224(12)(b) and replace it with:

(b) a permission to which this Chapter applies is granted during the period beginning on 1 August 2021 and ending on 31 July 2023 and the land to which the application for permission relates was purchased by the applicant, or the person on whose behalf the application is made, pursuant to a legally enforceable agreement entered into, or in exercise of an option in writing, to purchase the land, during the period beginning on 1 September 2015 and ending on 31 July 2021,

This was introduced by the Affordable Housing Act 2021 to provide certainty to developers and to ensure sites remain viable. The introduction of a retrospective clause would undermine this policy intent and reasonable expectation of developers at the time of purchase of the land. As such, I cannot accept the amendment.