Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Arising from a commitment I gave in October, my Department established a technical working group to update national policy advice on apartment developments and to identify and assess innovative solutions to our current accommodation pressures over and above conventional housing and apartment developments. The work of this group is nearing completion and will feed into the publication of new statutory guidelines for planning authorities by the end of the year. This will clarify planning policy in the build-to-rent sector, including the scope for innovative shared accommodation models where residents have their own living accommodation and bathrooms but may share larger kitchen facilities and communal recreation, meeting and working areas.

Bedsits were permitted in the past, but we have now moved on to rental accommodation standards which require that residents can avail of their own toilet and washing facilities, as opposed to shared facilities. The number of bedsits has reduced significantly in recent years. I am considering how remaining units might be brought into use, while respecting modern standards. As the Deputy has pointed out, we need a broad range of housing solutions to meet the various aspects of our current housing challenges and the changing accommodation needs of people at different stages of their lives. We need to free ourselves from the mindset that everyone should live in a conventional three-bedroom house or self-contained apartment at every stage of their lives. We know that alternative models work in other cities. The work that is under way to update our guidelines is designed to provide a framework for such models to work in Ireland.

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