DECLAN JONES,
Madam, - Your Editorial view (December 9th) that the Government's changes in housing policy since 1998 resemble a "wild, roller-coaster response, lacking any coherence" is both insightful and timely.
Focus Ireland, one of the leading organisations working to combat homelessness, has consistently argued that a root-and-branch review of housing policy is required to remove the inequities that fall most severely on households in housing need and at risk of homelessness.
Last week's alterations to the operation of Section V of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 which set aside up to 20 per cent of all new development sites for social and affordable housing, combined with the impact of Budget 2003, present yet another case in point for long overdue reform.
In short, Budget 2003 sets a course for severe retrenchment in the provision of social housing. Despite a 23.5 per cent increase in registered housing need since 1999 to a total of 48,413 households (or at least 130,000 people), this Budget has cut the social housing allocation by €59 million from last year.
This 5 per cent cut translates into a real cut of 10 to 15 per cent when housing inflation is taken into account and copperfastens the residual rate of social housing output at fewer than one in 10 of all dwellings built today.
We know from our own recently published research that before this cutback the potential achievement of National Development Plan housing output targets would have resulted in waiting lists falling by fewer than 1,400 households per year due to growing need.
We now know that the attainment of these targets is in jeopardy. As a result, low-income families in unsuitable, emergency accommodation will wait for longer than ever before for a home, while facing the constant risk of homelessness.
Budget 2003 represents a double whammy for those in need of accommodation and housing in Irish society. The change in VAT will add €2,000 to the price of an average house. It also adds to the rate of inflation that in turn will eat away at the meagre €6 increase in social welfare rates.
Within this context, the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2002 is a further retrograde step away from obtaining an equitable and just housing system. In our opinion, this new Bill fundamentally contradicts the original purpose of this hard-fought-for legislation - namely to reduce undue social segregation in new housing provision.
Irish housing policy has been found wanting on many occasions since the late 1990s. In November 2000, for instance, on the basis that it did not agree with its "general wording", the Coalition Government refused to ratify Article 31 of the EU Social Charter that provides for a Right to Housing.
Given this record, we are not greatly surprised by recent Government actions.
But we are resolved to redouble our efforts to work for the right of everyone to a place they can call home. - Yours, etc.,
DECLAN JONES, Chief Executive, Focus Ireland, Dublin 2.
Madam, - The Editorial on housing policy in your edition of December 9th is very misleading. The reality is that 44,000 new homes, the majority of which are currently under construction would not reach the required level stipulated in the Planning and Development Act 2000 and would therefore lose their permissions on December 31st. The impact of such a move on housing supply would be disastrous. According to Mr Noel Dempsey, the previous Minister for the Environment and Local Government, a further 35,000 new homes would lose their permissions in 2003.
It is obviously in everybody's interest that housing supply is maintained at a level consistent with demand. Allowing permissions on many new homes that have come through a very protracted planning application process to expire would obviously have huge impact on supply and the eventual loser would be the house buyer.
In relation to changes proposed to the provision of social and affordable housing in new planning permissions, it is disingenuous to suggest that "the effect will be a further reduction in the number of homes made available to low income families". Your Editorial disregards the fact that more than 2,000 social and affordable homes are currently being developed through a series of joint ventures involving local authorities in the Dublin area alone and the private sector. The proposals in the new Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2002 will enable more of these joint ventures to occur.
Furthermore, the suggestion that builders are being allowed to "buy their way out of their obligations" fails to recognise that the Bill provides a range of options for the applicant for planning permission, but these are in all cases conditional on the aggregate monetary value being equivalent to the value of up to 20 per cent of the applicant's site.
Put simply this equates with a cost to the housing construction industry of over €350 million a year. This money will be ring-fenced for local authorities to provide social and affordable housing. To put this in another context, this sum is equal to three-and-a-half times the annual levy on the banks that will be raised for just three years.
These costs are still prohibitive and punitive. The Irish Home Builders Association rejects any suggestion that Government has bowed to pressure from our industry. We are concerned that the measures proposed may not in themselves be sufficient to remove the rigidity in the planning system that has resulted in a dramatic fall in the number of new planning applications for residential development. It is also worth pointing out that the introduction of other new building regulations were the main factor behind an increase in planning applications towards the end of the year 2000.
The outcome of the new planning legislation will remain to be seen. The IHBA is, however, committed to ensuring that increases in the housing supply are maintained and to that end we welcome any moves by any government that support that objective. - Yours, etc.,
CIARAN RYAN, Director, Irish Home Builders Association, Dublin 6.