Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Government announced with great fanfare that it was increasing the requirement on developers to provide social and affordable housing under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, from 10% to 20%. This would see the provision of affordable homes double for those desperately waiting for them. Taking it at face value, one would be right in thinking this was a good deal for ordinary workers and families. However, like many announcements from the Government, it is very difficult to take it at face value. When we get into the finer details of the plan, we see there is a clause in place exempting large developers from providing additional social and affordable homes until 2026. The people in my area who are locked out of the housing market by sky-high rents simply cannot wait until 2026. The workers and families living in insecure rental accommodation cannot wait until then.

I commend my constituency and party colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, on bringing this Bill to the House. It will, in effect, remove the developer exemption and put ordinary workers and families in Lucan, Clondalkin and across Dublin Mid-West before the big developers. The Government had a chance to put ordinary workers and families looking to secure affordable homes first. It failed to do so, once again, at the behest of lobbying landowners and developers. There is no constitutional requirement for this exemption. Why then did the Minister feel it was needed? The exemption could potentially result in the loss of thousands of additional affordable homes. We simply cannot afford to lose any such homes in the current market.

The failed housing policies of Fine Gael, and now Fianna Fáil, are the reason we have a housing crisis. Their tired old measures, which put private interests before public need, are simply no longer washing with people. I do not expect the Government will have to wait until 2026 to get that message.

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