Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I support these amendments. The importance of early consultation and engagement with communities can create a win-win situation, reduce conflict and, what is very important, get local knowledge into the outline pre-planning process. Very often, that local knowledge is not held by developers, the people working for them or planners. It is very important to get that in. Exactly as Deputy Boyd Barrett said, we are talking about large applications that have significant impacts. To get that local knowledge in early is very useful.

The Minister said this is about redemocratising the planning system and bringing decision-making back to local authorities. Getting rid of the SHD process is doing that, but there are two problems here that need to be addressed, especially if we want to see less conflict and fewer judicial reviews. Apart from the SHDs, the other part of the problem is the section 28 mandatory ministerial guidelines, which have undermined development plans. The SHD process has been the vehicle to implement that undermining of the development plans, but those guidelines, in particular, have been a problem.

As part of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage's scrutiny process of this legislation, the Dublin Democratic Planning Alliance stated:

We see that our cities and communities are being destroyed through a planning system that is increasingly and detrimentally altered under the pressure from private developers and institutional investment funds interested only in short-term gains. Meanwhile, democratically designed Development Plans are being undermined and hollowed out.

Specifically, the undemocratic and unsustainable changes to our planning system are facilitated by the implementation and continuation of planning legislation that was introduced in a well-intended, but misguided attempt to ease the housing crisis. Introduced at the behest of the property industry ... [the] legislation was based on the false premise that the planning process was slowing down the delivery of housing. This has never been the case...

This organisation goes on to state that SHD legislation and the section 28 ministerial guidelines are a particular problem. It is not just the Dublin Democratic Planning Alliance that has said that. In its recent review, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform also came to a similar conclusion that planning is not in fact the problem in respect of housing supply. It pointed out, as others have, that there is no shortage of planning permissions. The shortage of commencements and construction is the problem.

We need to take on the issue of the mandatory guidelines in engaging more with communities and reducing conflict and judicial reviews. The reduced standards that came with the guidelines were lobbied for on the basis they would make apartment delivery more viable. When they were introduced in 2015, the promise was that apartment delivery would come in at approximately €200,000 to €260,000. In 2018, the promise was that apartment delivery would be viable from €240,000 up and in 2021 we see viability figures for apartments in places such as Dublin city centre coming in at figures such as €500,000.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform review also pointed out that what is happening now is that the kind of build-to-rent delivery with reduced standards that is coming in, at the behest of investment funds, is only viable or affordable for households with a gross income of €100,000. This drive towards reduced standards that is being facilitated by those mandatory guidelines has been a disaster. It has not delivered the viability or affordability that was promised. If anything, the opposite has taken place. The section 28 mandatory guidelines have to be addressed in addition to the overall SHD legislation.

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