Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 7, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following:“(2) An application for a strategic housing development under this section, other than for the alteration of an existing planning permission granted under section 34, may not be made by a prospective applicant who holds a planning permission for over 100 housing units for which a commencement notice has not been submitted to the relevant planning authority.”.

The amendment provides that a developer who holds permission for a development of over 100 housing units that has not been commenced may not apply for fast-track permission under this section. The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government has calculated there is outstanding planning permission for 27,000 units, as we heard yesterday, although the Minister today stated the figure was 28,000 for projects that have not commenced. Developers sitting on one or more existing planning permissions should have to start building those projects in order to be able to avail of fast-track planning.

Essentially, it is ludicrous that 28,000 potential units are sitting out there. There is a housing crisis and people are sitting on their hands by not developing these projects. We are talking about the urgency of the issue and the developers must get their hands out from under their bums and start building as soon as possible.