Bríd Smith demands timelines for cost rental at St Michael's
Bríd Smith urged faster action and definite timelines for a cost rental and social housing plan at St Michael's estate, criticising delays in planning and local consultation. She pressed for accelerated design work, meaningful public engagement and protections to keep local residents able to remain in the area.
Overview of the intervention
Bríd Smith opened by seeking explanation for delays and reminded colleagues that the community has been campaigning for decades. She emphasised the need for a clear, accelerated timeline and warned against further slippage after long local efforts.
Local consultation and events
She noted a recent WhatsApp about events at Richmond Barracks and three webinars scheduled in March, and underlined the importance of the public consultation beginning on 8 March. Smith stressed that local consultation must be substantive and kept on track alongside the planning process.
Planning and deadlines
Smith highlighted that Dublin City Council cannot lodge a planning application until revised design work is complete and urged priority on getting an application in this year. The minister responded that he is encouraging the council and expects a planning application by year-end, while acknowledging potential independent objections or judicial reviews that could affect timing.
Scheme specifics and departmental measures
The scheme discussed comprises 548 homes proposed as 75% cost rental and 25% social housing. The minister said a mixed tenure unit in the department will prioritise schemes of this type, and that a recent process change reduces stages from four to three to avoid undue delays. He also noted that national cost rental legislation is in place and cost rental homes already exist in Dublin and Kildare, with further funding options such as the HFA or EIB to be explored.
Community impact and affordability
Smith highlighted younger local residents working in IT and other fields who earn decent wages yet cannot afford to live in the area, stressing that rents must be set to sustain the community. She called for measures to ensure people educated and reared around St Michael's can continue to grow their families locally and afford to stay.
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Yeah, I think probably the explanation I'd like is around the delay as well and Deputy O'Brien made a point there about making it a pilot project for cost rental and that was a commitment given by Noel Murphy came out of the estate back in the day, back in 2018 I think it was, but the consultation, the local consultation with people is an issue. Now yesterday we got a WhatsApp sent around about events at Richmond Barracks during the month of March and three different webinars that are to take place so that's good news but like the other deputies here I think it needs to be accelerated, a proper timeline given to us because after all the community are decades, literally decades looking for this to happen and fighting in a very comprehensive and clear way in a very united way and working with all the parties in the area as well. Thanks Deputy. Minister. Thank you for their contributions on this and I want to assure you that we worked on this together in opposition. I'm going to continue that and I want everyone to work together with this. This is a really important site. You know it and we all know it and we want to deliver it. I don't want there to be any delays. Two things on the planning side. Deputy Collins, obviously the Council can't submit it for planning until they have the design work done and there's a revised design work but I'm encouraging them to really prioritise that and to get the application in this year. I'm watching this file regularly. Deputy O'Brien's point in relation to what happens post planning. It's a post planning. It's a very good question. We have already changed the four stage process just recently to effectively a three stage process. I'm also establishing what's called a mixed tenure unit within my department. So this scheme will go to one unit. Okay. So because it's 25% social, 75% cost rental, this will be given the absolute priority in relation to the stages. So there won't be inordinate delays with this in the process. We need to focus on getting this into planning. The public consultation is important. That's happening from the 8th of March. I'm quite happy to keep deputies regularly updated from my side of things and I know you'll keep the pressure on as well with DCC through your own representatives in the area. That last point is very, very important because we met and worked with a lot of younger people in the community who were trained, went to college, working in IT, unreasonably decent wages but not able to afford to live in the area and grow their own family. grow their own families in the area. So that last point about keeping the rents to a level where the community is sustainable and that those who got educated and reared around St Michael's estate can continue to live there at an affordable rate. So that's important. But the other thing I'm very concerned about is the timing and can we put definite timelines on this? I know you're sketching things roughly, but we need very definite timelines on when all this is going to happen. I believe in cost rental, Deputy Smith. That's why one of the first things I did when I came in was actually to work on the affordable housing piece, the bill with colleagues, to get it enacted. So we have a national cost rental scheme now and it's underpinned by legislation. So we have cost rental tenants in place in homes in Dublin and in Kildare now already. And we'll have hundreds more this year. So we're not just talking about a concept. Now to deal with cost and length of loan and that, I think the HFA may have a role in this. The EIB have there, but we'll explore that. And we do explore that with some of the bigger sides without complicating it or delaying it further. There's been no delays from our side of it. And I think what will be important in planning, when you say Deputy Smith, I'm sketching out the timeframe. I don't know what will happen in planning. I don't know whether there's going to be objections to this, whether there'll be judicial reviews, people go to the courts title. I don't know any of that because that's independent of me. I hope there won't be. And I hope the way the council are approaching this on a plan led basis is correct. Because people can see now, right, the detail of what we'll be proposing to be built there and to take the feedback from residents now. And that's important. But I want them to lodge planning by the end of this year. And I can assure you, Deputy Collins, that I'm encouraging DCC in a very positive way to make sure that that timeline is hit. I can't say who's going to object or make observations to it. So I hope that it receives a very fair wind through the planning process that has given its planning. We already know the council in advance of that will be submitting proposals to me and to the department in relation to funding. So we can work that through in advance of planning being granted. So I'm expecting a new application actually from Dublin City Council under the affordable housing fund. I haven't received it yet. They're working that through. I think they'll work it through on the basis of knowing how many units are actually going to be there. But I would expect and I hope that the deputies here will support the increased amount of homes there, the 548 homes that we're saying, 75% cost rental, 25% social. I'm going to encourage residents and work with them to make sure it gets through planning quickly. Thank you very much on this slide and stay focused. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, if you're sitting next to me about taking a break and doing Valli's 주세요,
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