Group calls for measures to solve housing shortage

Problems in the planning and regulatory systems will have to be urgently addressed if the housing shortage is to be tackled, according to the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland.

Mr Arthur Hickey, the institute's president, said delays in the planning process, poor information on the extent of the housing shortage, regulations in the rental sector and high rates of stamp duty all needed to be addressed.

In a submission to the Department of the Environment, Mr Hickey said staff shortages in the local authorities were causing delays of up to two years in securing the various approvals needed by developers before they could start building.

"Many local area action plans are being poorly prepared, either because the staff involved are not qualified or experienced, or because they are taken from developers with little or no input from the local authority or consultation with the general public."

Because of the delays being experienced, the RIAI has recommended that "reasonable extensions" beyond the two-year limit should be given to developers for area action plans laid down in last year's Planning Act.

"Another major issue is that nobody knows the real extent of the problem of housing shortages," according to Mr Hickey, who said there was an urgent need to establish an independent research body to provide such information to local authorities.

The RIAI president complained that current policies in relation to the rental sector had seen the "virtual elimination" of private investors from the housing market. As a result, many investors had switched their attentions to more lucrative office developments.

He emphasised that the development of the private rental sector, with more security of tenure and proper legal structures, was "essential" if Ireland was to provide for greater mobility in employment and attract the foreign workers which the economy needed.

Mr Hickey also proposed the establishment of a broadly based forum, which would be given the task of developing "a package of focused and practical policies to ensure an adequate supply of housing both in the short and medium terms".