Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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593. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government further to Part V legislation, his views on whether the 10% social housing requirement should be 10% of floor space, 10% of units, 10% of the land or all three; his views on whether there should be a mix of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses and apartments within the 10%; if there are requirements for disabled access units; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29537/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 there are a number of options for a Part V agreement including transfer of land at existing use value, transfer of housing units or lease of housing units.

Section 96(3)(b) of the Act provides that whichever option a local authority pursues the “net monetary value” of the property transferred, or the reduction in the rent payable by the local authority over the term of a lease, must be equivalent to the net monetary value of the land that the local authority would receive if the Part V agreement had provided for a transfer of land under section 96(3)(a). The “net monetary value” here is defined as the market value less the existing use value.

As stated in the Guidelines on Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 issued in January 2017 under section 28 of the Act, the net monetary value will normally be achieved where the planning authority acquire 10% of the units, in cases where the units are approximately of equal size. The Guidelines also state that where the net monetary value would not be achieved by the local authority by taking 10% of units of the preferred kind (e.g. 2- bedroom units), the balance should be achieved through an increased discount being given by the developer on those units and that the developer should not be required to transfer more than 10% of the units via a Part V agreement where he/she does not wish to do so. While the implementation of Part V is a matter for the local authorities, they are required to have regard to these section 28 Guidelines when carrying out their Part V functions.

The type of units to be sought is a matter for the individual local authority itself in accordance with its social housing needs and its Housing Strategy. Section 94 of the Act provides that a planning authority must include a housing strategy in its development plan for the purpose of ensuring that the proper planning and sustainable development of the area provides for the housing of the existing and future population of the area in the manner set out in the strategy.

In preparing a housing strategy, a planning authority must have regard to the most recent summary of social housing assessments prepared under section 21(a) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 that relate to the area of the development plan, and must include an estimate of the amount of social housing that will be required during the period of the development plan.

A housing strategy must also take into account -

(a) the existing need and the likely future need for social housing,

(b) the need to ensure that housing is available for persons who have different levels of income,

(c) the need to ensure that a mixture of house types and sizes is developed to reasonably match the requirements of the different categories of households, as may be determined by the planning authority, and including the special requirements of elderly persons and persons with disabilities, and

(d) the need to counteract undue segregation in housing between persons of different social backgrounds.

The Guidelines referred to above emphasise the importance of consulting with each developer at the earliest stage in the formulation of the development proposal so that the developer is informed of the social housing requirements for the site and this can be taken into account in the design of the development.