Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I compliment the Deputy on using her time well and straying over a variety of topics, all of which are important and could be separate topics for debate.

While set in an affordable housing context, the issues raised by the Deputy have a broader context concerning the creation of sustainable communities, which I know is as much a passion of the Deputy's as it is of mine — places where people want to live and work now and in the future to grow and develop their full potential. This is at the very heart of the new housing policy statement, Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities, which my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, and I published last week. A broad programme of actions is being implemented to support the realisation of that sustainable communities vision. In the time available, I will outline a number of the key elements involved.

A central requirement of the sustainable communities agenda is the achievement of a better housing mix, both in terms of social mix and the mix of different types of homes to meet the broad range of housing requirements. Taking the social mix issue first, Part V of the Planning and Development Act introduced a significant mechanism through which up to 20% of housing provided in most residential developments can be set aside for social and affordable housing purposes. I was interested in the Deputy's comment that in Kildare the housing provided seems to be disproportionately apartments. That is not the experience elsewhere and I will certainly follow that up. The implementation of this mechanism is based on the housing strategy adopted by each local authority, which must include measures to address the housing needs of all sectors of the population and encourage mixed and balanced communities in order to counteract undue social segregation.

Delivery of affordable and social housing under Part V of the legislation is now coming on stream at an increasing pace. To the end of September 2006, more than 3,500 homes were provided through this mechanism, with important benefits in terms of social integration.

Achieving a better social mix in apartment developments is also dependent on achieving an appropriate mix of different types of apartments, so that the full range of housing requirements, including those of families, can be met in the medium to long term. The Deputy will be aware that last month I published guidelines on apartment design and standards for public consultation. This is an area highlighted in a number of cases that went before An Bord Pleanála. The consultation period closes on 5 March and it is expected that the guidelines will be finalised in April. I would very much welcome contributions to that debate from the Deputy and other Members. However, pending finalisation of the guidelines, planning authorities are being requested to have regard to the recommended standards for new apartment schemes.

The focus of these draft guidelines is on the apartment building itself and on individual units within it. While there has been a general trend towards larger average apartment sizes over the past decade, these draft guidelines address the mix of unit types and sizes. They provide recommended minimum standards for floor areas in different types of apartments, for storage spaces, for apartment balconies and patios, and for dimensions in certain rooms.

The draft guidelines are relevant to private housing, but they also impact on affordable housing, given the increasing extent to which the Part V mechanism is beginning to deliver. Moreover, these new guidelines will form part of a suite of guidelines being prepared within a wider housing and planning context. These also include new guidelines on sustainable residential development, incorporating a revision of the 1999 residential density guidelines; a new best practice handbook on urban design and housing layouts which will illustrate, with examples drawn from current practice, how the policies set out in the planning guidelines might be implemented; and a revision of the 1999 social housing design guidelines.

I acknowledge the importance of the matter raised by the Deputy. The issues involved are being addressed comprehensively through the policy frameworks and the supporting initiatives developed by the Government. The affordable homes partnership has delivered some extraordinary quality housing. I encourage Members to have a look at the housing we brought on stream very rapidly through the swap of the site on Harcourt Terrace. These are beautiful houses, wonderful houses, happy families in very good quality duplexes and apartments such as the Belfry. They are a tribute to the builders who built them and to the Affordable Homes Partnership. My ambition is to see the quality of social and affordable housing improved. There is no excuse for second-rate accommodation in a rich country. I am determined that the quality will be improved.

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