Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Senators who spoke today for their contributions on this Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill. There were many interesting and varied contributions made and while I might not agree with all of them, I fully accept they were made in a genuine and constructive spirit. As the Minister, Deputy Kelly, outlined in his opening statement, and as has been acknowledged by many Senators in their contributions, we are currently faced with pressing and complex problems in regard to the operation of the housing market which require swift, decisive and innovative action if they are to be addressed. The housing package, Stabilising Rents, Boosting Supply, which was recently announced by the Government, contains a comprehensive range of measures to improve the operation of the private rental sector, tackle increasing homelessness and support increased housing supply. This follows on from previous actions implemented by the Government to address our housing-related problems.

While the provision of an unprecedented amount of new social housing units and enhancements to the operation of the private rental sector are essential to counteract homelessness and give tenants greater certainty in regard to security of tenure and the level of rents applied, boosting housing supply is also an essential ingredient to the overall mix of actions required to address the housing problems currently faced. There is no single panacea or silver bullet to address the housing problems but I can assure Members of the House that this issue is, and has been, a top priority of the Government.

The amendments to the Planning and Development Act proposed in this Bill emanate from the recently announced housing package, which will be legislatively underpinned on the enactment of this Bill. The main measures in the Bill relate to ensuring that planning authorities do not seek requirements above national standards set out in ministerial planning guidelines issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and streamlining the arrangements for the making of modifications to strategic development zone, SDZ, planning schemes.

As outlined earlier, the Minister is currently empowered under section 28 of the planning Act to issue guidelines to planning authorities to which they are required to have regard in the performance of their planning functions — for instance, in the determination of planning applications and the adoption of local development plans. However, not all planning authorities apply such national guidelines in their entirety, giving rise to some inconsistent application of such ministerial guidelines.

The apartment standard guidelines comprise a case in point. For example, Dublin and Cork city councils currently apply higher apartment standards than the current 2007 guidelines, the net effect of which is an increase in apartment costs in both cities, which is affecting the delivery of necessary housing at this stage. While Dublin City Council is currently considering this issue in its new development plan, there is a wider issue of consistent approaches to national policy issues as reflected in national guidelines that the Minister needs to address.

Revised apartment standard guidelines will be issued shortly to replace the 2007 guidelines, which will contain specific new requirements in regard to minimum apartment sizes, the number of lifts per number of apartments, car parking provision, floor to ceiling heights, the provision of dual-aspect apartments and storage provision with a view to ensuring their consistent application. It is estimated that the proposed revisions to the guidelines, which are still being finalised and which all planning authorities will be obliged to apply on enactment of this Bill, will deliver an average estimated cost reduction of €20,000 per apartment in Dublin city, in addition to the other cost reductions which will already apply on foot of other previous Government actions. These include the development contribution rebate scheme for affordable starter homes announced in the recent housing package, previous reductions in development contributions, in addition to the reductions in the Part V obligations on developers in regard to the provision of social and affordable housing as provided for in the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act enacted last July.

I have noted the reservations expressed by some Senators about reductions in apartment sizes in the revised guidelines. However, I emphasise that these revisions, which are currently being finalised, will not become a race to the bottom for apartment standards. Even allowing for some reductions in the minimum floor areas currently applied by Dublin and Cork city councils, we will still have minimum floor area sizes that will be among the most generous in Europe.

The primary aim of the revised guidelines will be to promote sustainable urban housing by ensuring that the design and layout of new apartments going forward will provide satisfactory accommodation for a variety of household types and sizes – including families with children – over the medium to long term. A further aim of the guidelines will be to make apartments more economically viable for developers to develop, and more affordable from the perspective of potential owner occupiers and renters alike.

The reality is that minimal apartment development has taken place in both Dublin and Cork since their respective city councils’ own local standards were introduced. This is not in anyone’s interest. Apartments should be developed taking account of real-world requirements and not aspirational standards, however well intended, that effectively put access to homes in some locations out of reach of ordinary citizens.

The Bill is also not about eroding or reducing the powers of elected local authority members in regard to the adoption of local standards. It is aimed at facilitating the development of well-designed and reasonably-sized apartments that are not presently being provided in certain local authority areas. It is also aimed at ensuring the adoption of a consistent approach by all local authorities and that we do not have a multiplicity of approaches being applied throughout the country, which would be unsustainable.

The clear view of the Government is that we need to ensure that development proposals, including in respect of apartments, are more economically viable and are provided at more affordable prices than at present, thereby facilitating increased housing supply, particularly in Dublin, where demand is most acute. This will not only help counter house and apartment price increases but also have the ancillary benefit of helping to address rent increases in the private rental market.

The streamlining of the procedures for the modification of proposed and previously approved SDZ planning schemes, as outlined in sections 4 to 6 of the Bill, are necessary in order to help bring on stream housing supply in such schemes much more speedily than at present, when any modifications to such schemes can take up to two years to be approved, thereby bringing development to a halt.

The measures proposed in the Bill are designed to ensure any perceived barriers to housing supply from a planning perspective are addressed and that the planning system is fit for purpose in this regard and increasing housing construction activity. Accordingly, I commend the Bill to the House. I look forward to further engagement with Members as the Bill progresses through the House.