Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State will be aware, Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 has been the backbone of the provision of much-needed social housing stock across the State for many years. Without the requirement that each private developer provides a percentage of social housing for the local authority, it is hard to imagine how much worse off the housing crisis would be. These housing units have been essential in trying to protect inner-city communities that are being pushed out by big high-tech companies.

The Government does not like to hear any criticism of high-tech companies, but there is another view of the high-tech companies in the inner-city community of Pearse House, Markievicz House and Mercer House and this is due to the huge, negative impact these companies have had on housing for the local community. To see developers using loopholes in outdated legislation is infuriating for local communities in the city who, time and again, feel forgotten and left behind by the State. The moment the previous Minister scraped the height guidelines in 2018, it created a hole in housing legislation for developers to exploit and that is exactly what they are doing.

Two years ago, I introduced a Bill aimed at plugging this hole, blocking this exploitation and ensuring there would be fair treatment of the local community and developers building homes. My proposal was on foot of a local campaign in Ringsend that was built around the planning permission that was granted for the development of a seven-storey apartment block on York Road, Ringsend. Having been granted planning permission for the seven-storey block, the developer was exempt from providing social units. He then reapplied for planning permission to change the build to a 15-storey apartment block. Had the developer been successful in this application, it would have resulted in 48 new homes and no public housing for the local community. This application was blocked because of the amazing campaign put together by the local community in Ringsend.

In a housing crisis, to allow such blatant dodging of Part V requirements is bonkers. My Bill was opposed at the time with the then Minister saying that York Road was a one-off development and that no other developments would use this loophole. Since then, I am aware of developments on Lime Street and Sandwith Street both of which used the size of the site to be exempt from providing any social units. Both these developments are within 15 minutes of Leinster House. How many examples of the use of this loophole are seen throughout the State? I do not know, but I can guarantee you if they are being built 15 minutes away from the Dáil, they are being built right across the State, particularly in built-up urban areas.

What happened on York Road was certainly not a one-off. Will the Government review the position it has taken in the past and address the need to update this flawed legislation, thereby ensuring the gap that developers use to exploit loopholes in the planning laws are closed? If there is already an exemption for small developments of fewer than ten homes, why is there also an exemption based on the area on the ground? That is the loophole developers are using.

See this speech in context