Martin Daly on Housing Crisis: Calls for Rezoning and Infrastructure

I'd just like to raise the issue around, I suppose it's the singular issue of this Dáil and this generation is the whole housing issue. The new planning framework has gone to the local authorities and I'd like to know what the response has been from the local authorities and what initiatives the government are going to take to ensure that the instructions of government to increase free zoning of land will be carried through at a local level. And also the development of wastewater treatment plants and the developer-led wastewater treatment plants which would serve, as Deputy O'Mara has pointed out, would serve small towns and villages very well because there is a pent-up demand there to develop in small towns and villages but the problem is infrastructure. And of course increasing our energy infrastructure, I know the government are putting huge resources into the development of the grid and the production of electricity and also to look at the off-site construction solutions solutions that can ramp up supply rapidly in Ireland. Thank you. Deputy Daley raised a number of issues at the wastewater treatment plants which was similar to Deputy O'Mara. The planning framework, it is the case that we need greater speed from the local authorities in respect of following through the planning framework and they need to rezone more land because ESRI are saying government has adopted a 50,000 per annum assessment of need. That's a needs-based target. It's not... So we have to work out how we get there. But ESRI are saying we need 50,000 a year. Some are saying we need 60,000 a year. And that cannot be done without rezoning. Yet it's clear to us that certain CEOs are humming and hawing about rezoning. And I've been talking to councillors and proposals hasn't come to the table. My understanding is Dublin City Council is saying that they won't rezone. That they have enough land. I believe Fingal are in a similar situation. And there's a housing crisis out there. Deputy O'Mara, I haven't normalised anything. I'm very clear about this. The cost of housing is excessive for young couples. That's why we need to rezone land and get more houses built. And that has to happen over a 10-year period. To get on top of the situation. We've moved from about 20,000 houses a year in 2019 or 2020. To about 32, 33, maybe 34,000 a year. That was a big shift from 2020. But we have to go much, much farther than that. And that needs both public sector investment. And it needs private sector investment as well. And Deputy Daly is correct also in terms of grid off-site and modern methods of construction. We're driving that because that is going to be key in accelerating construction of housing also. On the rezoning issue, there are legislative options to the minister to mandate. He's already instructed, but actually to go ahead and get it done. But ideally, the council, as with the officials, should do it. And there will be engagement between the minister and I and CEOs of county councils to drive this, that agenda. Deputy Batchik raised the issue of homelessness, the new housing plan. The new housing plan will be published within the next number of weeks. I think it made sense that we'd get the National Development Plan done first, in terms of having the capital framework over the next five years, from the public sector investment underpinning housing, announced. But we haven't waited for the plan. We've taken measures that ordinarily would have ended up in the plan, such as the rent pressure zone review, such as the change in apartment criteria, and the planning framework, and also the initiative the minister has taken in respect of homelessness, the £50 million he announced last week, in terms of acquisitions to take families off the homeless list, a more direct approach. And I'll come back to you in terms of the student accommodation strategy. The LDA has a significant pipeline. I don't have the exact figures here with me in terms of thousands of houses now that, but obviously over the next number of years they'll come on stream, but some very significant advance work has been done in terms of particular sites. That the LDA has acquired and have completed plans on and design and so on. And in some, as you know, they've completed some significant projects and more to come. I wouldn't be entirely, you know, there are aspects of that finance report that I wouldn't entirely agree with. And I think the LDA still would have a significant contribution to make, along with the local authorities and along with the affordable housing bodies. Deputy James, again, the work is underway in terms of the structure for the implementation of the Dublin City Task Force. And that is continuing. And when we have details, we'll come back to the house in respect of that. And living over the cities is key, but that also applies to the Living City Initiative, you know, the existing scheme, which is quite limited and has had limited impact. And so that's, that's on the review. And we've had some discussions on that. Apart altogether from any task force that would apply to a number of cities. And in my view, you know, there are towns as well that could do with over the shop and commercial converting, you know, buildings over the shops and so on into, into residential. I think the future in many urban centers will have to be more residential, actually. And I think we're changing the living, the city experience is changing. Uh,