Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)

I wish to raise two issues in this debate, which I welcome. The first is planning certainty. If you talk to any home builder of a medium scale, 20 or more units, they will tell you planning uncertainty is a huge challenge when it comes to being able to build new homes. This includes the additional information processes in local authorities, adding uncertainty to their timelines, and unclear decision timelines in An Bord Pleanála appeals process which adds months of uncertainty to their projects. Judicial reviews add months if not years of uncertainty. A local home builder told me recently that planning uncertainty means he has to plan for three to four years in total from start to finish even for a small scheme delivering a small number of units. It is really challenging for them. As a result, Bank of Ireland and AIB will not lend so development finance is a struggle. Deputy O'Connell mentioned, and I welcome, enacting key provisions of the planning Bill urgently as a priority, even if it means getting through the inevitable court challenge from some quarters. We have to put our shoulder to the wheel and get it done to shorten those timeframes.

Bank of Ireland and AIB are not lending because of these risks. The HFA will lend to local authorities. It has very good rates for social housing building - 1.75% for ten years and 2.25% for new lending at 25 years. The margin of the Home Building Finance Ireland on the other hand can range from 4.75% to 7.5% over EURIBOR, one of its pricing rates. There is an inherent unfairness to those rates. HBFI has a huge opportunity to provide development finance to a whole coterie of medium-sized builders but the rates have to be competitive. AIB and Bank of Ireland are just not lending. People cannot get development finance. It is 20% upfront and then these guys building have to provide the rest themselves at a very high rate. I urge that the HBFI be looked at seriously to scale it up as a lending institution with competitive rates somewhere near the HFA rates to local authorities. There is so much demand that the risk is really limited for HBFI.

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