Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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264. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update under Housing for All to a new national policy on right-sizing to highlight the potential of right-sizing for households that no longer fully occupy their current privately owned accommodation and an exploration of options to support and incentivise right-sizing on a voluntary basis. [7126/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Housing for All (published in September 2021) provides a new housing plan for Ireland to 2030 with the overall objective that every citizen in the State should have access to good quality homes through a steady supply of housing in the right locations, with economic, social and environmental sustainability built into the system. The strategy commits to increasing the housing options available to older people to facilitate ageing in place with dignity and independence, including the development of a national policy on rightsizing.

My Department is advancing work on the development of this policy and exploration of the options to support and incentivise rightsizing on a voluntary basis with the objective of optimising the potential for more efficient use of under occupied existing private and social housing stock. The development of a national rightsizing policy is having regard to a focused stakeholder consultation undertaken in the latter part of 2022 and existing local authority approaches to rightsizing for social housing. My Department is working on bringing forward a draft national policy in the coming months.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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265. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update under Housing for All to a fresh start principle for applications to State affordable housing and loan schemes. [7127/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Government's ‘Housing for All’ plan includes the ‘Fresh Start’ principle whereby those who have previously purchased a home, but who are divorced or separated or have undergone insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings, and no longer have any financial interest in their former home, can be eligible for these schemes just as if they were first-time buyers.

This principle now applies to the Local Authority Home Loan, the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme, the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Scheme and the First Home Scheme.

An additional ‘Fresh Start’ criterion applies to homes sold under the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme, within which eligible applicants may also include those who previously purchased a home which is no longer of an appropriate size to meet their current household accommodation needs.

The 'Fresh Start' principle forms a key element in 'Housing For All', and has been applied across the affordable and mortgage schemes run by my Department.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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266. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update under Housing for All to introduce radical new modern Kenny report-style powers to ensure sharing of the increase in land values from rezoning decisions and greater community gain. [7128/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Housing Policy Objective 12.1 of Housing for All (September 2021) outlined an action to bring forward new ways for the State to share in a fairer way from the land value gains secured through zoning/designation and planning permission decisions, referring to measures previously recommended by the Kenny Report and more recently by NESC. In December 2021 the General Scheme with Heads of Bill relating to Land Value Sharing and Urban Development Zones was approved by Government for publication and progression.

Since then, independent economic consultants were procured and appointed to assist with defining the most appropriate method to implement Land Value Sharing. An open call was further made on my Department's website seeking public views on the development of any such approach. A data-gathering exercise was also undertaken to with a view to informing trends of uplift over time on land values. Engagement with key stakeholders including the local government sector and valuation experts has also been undertaken.

Following these stakeholder and data-gathering phases, the detail of how Land Value Sharing should operate is currently being finalised. On foot of a Government Decision in December 2022 to approve the updated General Scheme which will be published shortly, detailed drafting of the bill is underway. It is envisaged that engagement with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, with a view to presenting the Bill to the Oireachtas, will commence in due course.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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267. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update under Housing for All to ending strategic housing developments, returning planning decisions to local authorities and reforming the judicial review process. [7129/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government - Our Shared Future and Housing for All committed to not extending the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) arrangements beyond their legislative expiry date of end December 2021, which was subsequently extended to 25 February 2022 arising from the Covid-related extension of statutory timelines within the planning system by eight weeks in respect of the period March to May 2020 due to the shutdown of the construction sector.

The Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Act 2021 (Act of 2021) was signed into law by the President on 14 December 2021. Furthermore, the Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Act 2021 (Commencement) Order 2021 which brings the provisions of the Act into effect was signed with an effective date of 17 December 2021.

The main purpose of the Act of 2021 is to restore the two-stage planning process, with decision making for Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) type applications returning to the local planning authority in the first instance, with the subsequent right of appeal to An Bord Pleanála (the Board), thereby delivering on the commitments in the Programme for Government as well as Housing for All.

The Act of 2021 also includes a number of transitional arrangements in relation to the expiry of the SHD arrangements and their replacement by the new LRD arrangements. Under the Act:

- SHD prospective applicants/ developers already in receipt of an SHD opinion under the SHD arrangements on the commencement of the Act (17 December 2021) had 16 weeks to submit an SHD application to the Board from that date.

- SHD prospective applicants/ developers who had formally commenced consultations with the Board and were awaiting an SHD opinion on the commencement of the Act (17 December 2021) were given 16 weeks to submit an SHD application to the Board from the date of receipt of the SHD opinion.

With regard to judicial review, the draft Planning and Development Bill 2022 (the Bill), approved by Government on 13 December 2022, proposes to introduce amendments to the judicial review procedures by, among other things, introducing timelines for the various steps in the judicial review process including for pleadings, hearing of cases and delivery of judgements by the Court. The Bill is presently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage with a view to enactment by the Oireachtas Summer Recess.