Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

This Bill proposes several positive steps that Solidarity will support. In particular, we welcome the proposal to increase the vacant site levy from 3% to 25%. We also support the removal of the right of the landowner to appeal the valuation of the vacant site as determined by the planning authority. We support giving the planning authority the power to value some vacant sites at a zero valuation. Indeed, this is something that should be considered beyond the limited circumstances envisaged in this Bill.

The biggest hoarder of land in the State is the State itself. According to research conducted recently by Mr. Mel Reynolds, the State controls sufficient land zoned for residential development to provide more than 114,000 dwellings. Some 48,724 of these could be developed on lands owned by the local authorities, 65,399 could be developed on lands owned by NAMA and yet, in the middle of the biggest housing crisis in the history of the State, the Government has built less than 1% of this total per annum in recent years.

Solidarity has proven the potential for public housing on public lands by publishing detailed costed plans for potential developments at Old Whitechurch Road in Cork, Damastown in Dublin West, Kilcarbery in Dublin South-West and Belcamp Lane, Northern Cross in Dublin Bay North.

In Cork city, there are now 310 hectares of land zoned for residential development in the hands of NAMA. This is more than 18% of all such lands owned by NAMA in the entire State. There are a further 41 hectares of land zoned for residential development in the hands of Cork City Council. In Cork city, 11,350 new dwellings could be built on the 351 hectares owned by NAMA and Cork City Council combined. Solidarity has shown how the last major Cork City Council landbank at Old Whitechurch Road could be used to build 800 new homes - 600 houses and 200 apartments - at a cost of, say, €150,000 for a two-bedroom apartment and €170,000 for a three-bedroom house, eliminating profit, etc. Mortgage repayments could cover the cost of 400 affordable homes over 25 years. Four hundred social homes could be covered by €29 million from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and a sum less than one fifth of the Cork City Council capital programme budget.

The provisions of this Bill are modest but they are positive, and Solidarity supports them in so far as they go. However, only the development of public housing on the vast majority of that publicly-owned, zoned land can bring this housing crisis to an end and our message to the Minister is, "Get on with the job or get out of office."

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