Politics

Housing crisis: Councils to be bypassed for planning permissions

Proposals for developments in excess of 150 houses would go directly to planning board

One source said Mr Coveney’s proposal could also potentially bypass local area plans laid down by councils. Photograph: Bloomberg
One source said Mr Coveney’s proposal could also potentially bypass local area plans laid down by councils. Photograph: Bloomberg
Fiach Kelly
Sat Jul 02 2016 - 14:07

Councils are to be bypassed in the granting of planning permissions for major new developments under plans being considered to solve the housing crisis.

Minister for Housing Simon Coveney is understood to have tabled a proposal to Cabinet to help cut planning appeals against developments of 150 housing units or more.

Such developments would instead go straight go to An Bord Pleanála, a procedure that currently applies only to major infrastructural projects. While appeals can still be made to the board, the proposal would remove a stage of the planning process with the intention of avoiding new developments getting bogged down in objections.

One source said such a move could also potentially bypass local area plans laid down by councils and “will not go down well” with councillors. It is understood it would be a temporary measure.

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The Government's Action Plan for Housing, its key policy paper to tackle the housing crisis, will be published later this month.

The Cabinet subcommittee on housing met this week and discussed its outline, although many details have yet to be decided.

Additional funding

Sources said Mr Coveney requested an additional €2 billion at the meeting, on top of €3 billion already promised, in funding for social housing projects over the lifetime of the plan which is to run until 2021.

Its aim is to build 50,000 social housing units over the next five years, although some of these will be provided by private developers through their social housing commitments.

It is unclear if Mr Coveney’s request will be granted by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe, with one source saying he would be “doing well” to get an extra €1 billion.

There were also discussions on how to make it easier to both buy and build homes, although exact measures have yet to be decided. Of particular concern is the difficulty in saving for a mortgage deposit, due to the Central Bank lending rules, in Dublin and other urban areas.

“If the house is €300,000, you could be looking at a deposit of €60,000,” said one source. “There is a gap there, and there is talk of how you fill that gap. Others are concerned that it could drive up the cost of houses.”