Seanad debates

Friday, 17 July 2015

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages

 

10:30 am

Photo of Paudie CoffeyPaudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Barrett raises some pertinent points. I thank him for raising them because they are part of the wider housing debate in terms of affordability and the whole economic feasibility of housing in this country. We have to take into account everything I said earlier, including land costs, infrastructural costs and the need to deliver vital public infrastructure. On top of that, we have the whole concept of design standards. We need to ensure that we have adequate and robust standards in terms of safety and good-quality homes. That is all important.

We are trying to address the feasibility issue in terms of this legislation. We are reducing retrospectively high development charges which we believe are an impediment to some projects going forward to construction. This will reduce the overheads and encourage developers to get building on these sites again. It will give the power to local authorities to do that.

The Senator quite rightly raised issues around infrastructural development and the associated costs. This is added to the billing costs and it goes towards the ultimate cost of the unit for the house buyer. We have to try to address that. There are a number of other impediments, including the development levies, to which I have referred already. Access to credit for builders is a major issue in this country at the moment. We are working to try to find other ways to assist builders to get back onto sites in order that they can start building houses again. The Government is looking at further initiatives in this regard in terms of how we fund infrastructure in future and how we fast-track infrastructure to unlock lands that are in high-demand areas. We will be looking at the issue of credit as well.

Generally speaking, these are debates that we will have to revisit and continually evaluate. Planning feasibility is another issue. The Minister, Deputy Kelly, and I were criticised recently for writing to one of the Dublin local authorities. At the moment the authority is formulating the county development plans. We asked the authority to take account of feasibility in terms of planning. We all have high aspirations and objectives in terms of standards for our houses. However, some local authorities were going for the full belt-and-braces approach, well beyond the EU standards. Those responsible are entitled to do so, but we were simply asking them to be mindful of the cost element, because if we cost ourselves out of the market then we will not deliver the units. We need to be aware of that. We have been criticised as being mouthpieces for the construction sector. That is not the case. We are simply looking at feasibility and a holistic approach to providing housing. If it is not affordable, they will not be built. If we are not building, then this housing crisis will continue. We need to address it on a number of fronts.

The Bill before the House today is only one way of addressing the problem. The social housing strategy is another way. The role of the approved housing bodies and the private sector is yet another way. Ultimately, we are all trying to achieve a sustainable housing market in the country, a normalised housing market with a recovered construction sector. We are trying to do that at what is possibly the worst time in our economic history. However, the good news is that we are starting to make progress now. In order to give hope to those people on the housing list, the momentum needs to continue. The Government is committed to giving this objective the focus, resources and determination it needs. This is where my focus remains and will remain as long as I am in this office.

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