Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 6 March 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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It is a reverse of our approach to planning. Normally, we would have built houses and then wondered about where we would put the roads, Luas stop and schools. The reverse is happening in Cherrywood. As it is built, it will rise quickly. That is exciting and will have a positive impact on the Deputy's constituency. Where new homes, in particular apartments, have been built in his constituency, they have had a downward pressure on prices in the area. I know that because I have looked at the information.

The number of families in emergency accommodation is higher in Dublin because the pressures are more acute here. That is why we are investing more resources in Dublin than in other parts of the country. It is also why the majority of hubs are in Dublin. We are undertaking these measures in recognition of the fact that Dublin is different from the rest of the country and that some solutions will be more successful more quickly in other parts of the country by virtue of their size or the pressures they face, for example, numbers on the housing list, the number of jobs created, etc.

We are not just planning for tomorrow, but for beyond tomorrow. That is why Project Ireland 2040 is so important. If we are to ensure that we do not repeat the stark mistakes of the past ten years and two housing crises, one begotten by the other, then we must plan differently. That means more compact growth, thousands of more apartments and doubling the populations of our other cities, not just Dublin, if we are to avoid the pressures of today in ten or 15 years time after we have come through the current challenge. That is why the likes of the LDA and Project Ireland 2040 are so important. They will take State land that was not earmarked for housing and bring at least 40% of that forward for social and affordable housing in places where there might have been no housing at all. The LDA is already considering eight key sites, comprising approximately 150,000 homes, in strategic high-demand areas. These are all the things that we are doing under Rebuilding Ireland and Project Ireland 2040 to deal with the pressure points the Deputy outlined in his contribution.