Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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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 To see developers using loopholes in outdated legislation is infuriating for local communities in the city who, time and again, feel forgotten and left behind by the State.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.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for tabling this Topical Issue matter. Again, I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. The primary objective of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 is to "ensure an adequate supply of housing for all sectors of the existing and future population". Accordingly, Part V allows local authorities to purchase a percentage of land, at less than the enhanced market value, and use it for social, affordable and cost rental housing. The Part V requirement is currently 20%, with no less than half of this to be used for social housing and the remainder for affordable and cost rental as the local authority deems appropriate.

That said, section 97 of the 2000 Act also provides for an exemption to Part V for developments comprising four or fewer houses or developments on land of less than 0.1 hectare. The purpose of the exemption is to help maintain housing output and supply. A relatively small number of sites in urban areas, smaller than 0.1 hectares comprising a development of five or more houses, have been granted exemptions. However, without these exemptions, the developments would probably have been rendered unviable because of the cost of including social and affordable homes and much needed housing supply would not have been delivered. Such sites already face potentially substantial additional costs in urban settings given the machinery restrictions associated with infill sites, the need to stabilise existing adjoining buildings and conservation requirements.

The Government is committed to achieving compact urban growth and making our towns and cities more sustainable and attractive places for investment and for people to live and work. Urban sprawl and the ribbon development that has blighted parts of our countryside need to be consigned to the past. The national planning framework targets a significant proportion of future urban development on infill or brownfield sites within the built footprint of existing urban areas. In this context, prioritising the development of smaller sites and providing a policy framework and conditions that incentivise rather than stifle such developments is critical.

The Part V exemption is a key enabler in this regard. It facilitates the development of very small brownfield sites and in turn creates new homes, builds economic activity and reduces social decay. Removing the exemption will likely prevent such sites being developed. In urban settings, these sites tend to be already serviced, making them ideal for development. The lack of suitable serviced sites is generally understood as one of the primary obstacles to housing delivery. Moreover, removing the exemption may only marginally increase the capture of Part V units in dense urban locations, including in Dublin city, where brownfield and infill development on sites of 0.1 hectare or less takes place.

Accordingly, given the limited additional return of social and affordable housing that would result from removing the exemption, coupled with the potential for unintended consequences and undermining housing supply, I suggest the exemption in respect of such developments and sites should be retained. However, there may be merit in considering the potential to modify the exemption and the scope for limiting it in larger urban areas, including Dublin, where urban density guidelines and changes to height restrictions may mean that these sites can contain larger numbers of dwellings than was previously foreseen. To this end, I have asked the Housing Agency to consider the scope and merit, if any, of modifying the current Part V exemptions. The conclusions from this work will be considered in the context of other changes that may be brought forward on Part V in due course.

Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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The last few sentences of the Minister of State's response provided some bit of hope, because there is clearly an issue around developments being exempted due to the site being 0.1 hectares. The scraping of height restrictions has led to applications for ten- and 15-storey buildings. There was an application for a 15-storey building in Ringsend with public housing available on the site but that did not happen. We need to ensure this loophole is closed. There are other sites next to Pearse House flats, which are not too far from here, and Leo Fitzgerald House that are exempt from the Part V provision of public housing. It means local communities and families will miss out. There are many cases of three generations of families living in two-bedroom flats, such as in Pearse House.

In one case, five people were living in a one-bedroom flat in Markievicz House until very recently. That is replicated right across the city. Conditions are overcrowded in many flats such as those on Rathmines Avenue, in Mercer House and Whitefriar Gardens. The overcrowding is completely unacceptable and it is equally unacceptable that developers are allowed to exploit loopholes in the legislation to get out of their responsibility to provide public housing for the local community.

I acknowledge the work the Minister of State has done. I know she is here regularly. The Minister of State certainly deserves a Christmas break because she has got to be one of the most hard-working Ministers around. Gabhaim buíochas léi and I wish her a happy Christmas.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. Importantly, the Part V exemption supports compact growth and the first of the ten national strategic outcomes of the national planning framework. It is also critical to the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient society as outlined in the Climate Action Plan 2019. It underpins successful delivery of Housing for All in helping meet housing supply targets, incentivising the regeneration of small sites in towns and cities and making housing more affordable and sustainable in the longer term. The exemption facilitates development of very small brownfield and infield sites in particular, in turn creating new homes, regenerating inner-city areas, meeting housing needs, building economic activity and reducing social decay. While exemptions for the development of five or more houses on sites of 0.1 ha or less are more prevalent in larger urban settings rather than rural ones, the number of such exemptions granted is still quite low. Removing the exemption would probably only marginally increase the yield of social and affordable housing for the State, even in Dublin city, and may result in unintended consequences and stifle much-needed development in housing supply. However, as the Minister has outlined earlier, the Housing Agency has been asked to consider the matter with a particular focus on larger urban areas and report back with its conclusion. His Department will consider actions and next steps.

I wish the Deputy and everybody in the House a happy Christmas and I thank the Acting Chair for all his work.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Aire Stáit.