Local authority social housing projects will go from a four-stage approval process to a single-stage process under reforms announced by Minister for Housing James Browne.
The move is intended to speed up the process of getting Government approval for building social housing, which has been frequently criticised as too lengthy, time-consuming and bureaucratic.
Mr Browne has also announced that he would mandate “specific design layouts and specifications” for all new-build social housing projects which would speed up planning and building by having a standard design for social housing.
“The single stage process and the use of standardised design layout options and specifications will streamline delivery, and I expect to see a marked increase in own-build social housing delivery from local authorities in particular,” Mr Browne said in a statement after the Cabinet approved the changes on Tuesday morning. “It is of urgent importance.”
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Currently, local authorities and approved housing bodies who are building social housing projects have to go through a four-stage process to secure approval and funding from Government.
Only smaller projects – with a value of less than €8 million and a maximum of 25 units – can go through a single-stage process.
That single-stage approval process will be extended to all projects, which Mr Browne said would provide “greater scope for increased and quicker delivery”.
Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD said the proposal is “nothing more than a cheap gimmick to deflect from the Government’s own failures on social and affordable housing delivery”.
He said Government knows this year’s social and affordable housing targets cannot be met and that Government “are now setting the local authorities up to take the blame come the year’s end”.
“Last year, the government missed their cost rental targets by 15 per cent, their social housing new-build target by 16 per cent and the affordable purchase target by an astonishing 61 per cent.
“The single biggest reason for these missed targets is the volume of red tape and bureaucracy imposed by central government on local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) and the Land Development Agency.
Mr Ó’Bron said one of the consequences of this “red tape” is an overreliance on the purchase of new homes from private developers via turnkey agreements and Part V acquisitions.
“Just 25 per cent of all new-build social homes last year were directly delivered by local authorities and AHBs on public land.”
“This overreliance on private developments is a direct consequence of the failure of government to reform social and affordable housing delivery. It also means that councils have less control over the pipeline of projects, the design of the homes and the costs. Only last year the Department of Finance was insisting that this overreliance on expensive turnkeys should continue.”
