Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his considered response. His clarification was the same one I had wished to make to Senator Boyhan. This is not about planning applications; it is about existing planning permissions, that is, those that have gone through the 78-week process, as described, and have been through all the loopholes. These are situations in which there is no question but that permission to build has been granted. I appreciate some of the Minister's concerns about this but I believe that it is still fundamentally important.

I would like the Minister to consider potentially coming back on Report Stage with an amendment of his own in this regard. While there may be cases such as those the Minister has described, we need to be clear about what we are talking about when we talk about "viable". Clearly, to a large extent, these situations are viable because they were granted planning permissions. If there has been a further development in the case of a flood plain, that is a particular issue. If there is a gas line that is waiting to come through or a road to be built, they may be key issues, but it seems we are talking about "viable" simply in terms of the level of profit that can be made.

If we are serious - and I believe the Minister is - about housing, we need to be absolutely clear that, unfortunately, profit alone cannot be the main driver, the main consideration and the gift that must be offered up in order to have reasonable housing and accommodation. The Minister spoke to the reason houses had not been built and that they are being built now, that is, the profit incentive. In the future we may well not have secure public finances. We live in an unstable world. We cannot build our plan simply on a limitless degree of profit in terms of construction companies setting their own agenda completely in what they regard as sufficient motivation to build. Nobody is saying that developers must build if they will make a loss, but let them weigh up the advantages, which the Minister has rightly said are given and afforded to developers in this legislation, and the opportunities to build and fast-track planning proposals, to invest and to seize this moment as the moment when they can build and sell.That should come with the cost of the kinds of other planning developments we need around the country which have planning permission. There is a reason our housing industry failed and much of that is because of speculation. The reason we are in the situation we are in now is because there was an absolutely untrammelled, speculative approach to housing based on the idea that the market, solely, would provide. I hope the Minister's measure will provide balance. He is working with the providers but it should be clear that his fundamental responsibility is not simply their financial returns; his core responsibility is to ensure we have the housing supply we need. This is an opportunity to leverage our power as legislators to ensure we see movement because speculators have been drip-feeding development in parts of the country. They are waiting to decide when they feel motivated to build and that is on the back of the hardship of citizens. We would be very happy to work with the Minister to bring this forward in the limited time available to us. Perhaps the Minister could table amendments to address the hoarding of planning permission under speculation and, for example, he could put forward a definition of "viable" and have it incorporated into the considerations of the planning process. We are not talking about a huge number of developments here, only developments of 100 units or more. These are the large-scale actors. If we are talking about companies that are putting forward new proposals they must be companies that are valid and viable in that sense as well. It sends a very strong signal and it is not unfeasible or unreasonable. I would like the Minister to consider working with us to see how the goal we have set out might be achieved and how the Minister feels his concerns could be addressed in an amended version of this amendment on Report Stage.