Failing on social housing

City Living: The industry can do better for the less well-off, writes Edel Morgan.

Mick Wallace - an anti-establishment capitalist developer with socialist leanings (confused?) - described himself in yesterday's Irish Times as a "relatively small builder". Relatively small perhaps if you compare him to the superleague of land guzzlers that includes Seán Dunne, Bernard McNamara and Pat Doherty, but let's just say there'd be no point in ringing him for a quote to do your extension.

Among his high profile developments is Quartiere Bloom, or the "Italian Quarter" as it's better known, off Ormond Quay, an apartment complex with Italian-themed shops, cafés and restaurants where Section 23 apartments sold for €395,000 to €675,000 when launched in 2003.

Wallace will speak today at Focus Ireland's conference - Festival of Home - at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham. The gist of his speech is that Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, which requires that a percentage of social and affordable housing be included in new housing schemes, hasn't delivered. Since 2002 over 400,000 new houses have been built in Ireland - social housing accounted for a meagre 27,752 units.

Wallace says that Part V was a golden opportunity to get away from the old ghetto mentality where social housing was kept separate from private housing. Local authorities have given in to developer pressure and accept cash deals in lieu of housing. This, Wallace says, needs to be stopped except in "very exceptional circumstances" and has allowed developers buy their way out of their societal obligations.

He doesn't say what he thinks of local authorities allowing developers to keep luxury schemes free of social and affordable housing by accepting homes on lower value sites. Recently, developer Seán Dunne told public representatives that it was unlikely he would include lower cost homes on his Jurys and Berkeley Court sites in Ballsbridge but would provide them elsewhere in Dublin south-east. Some say that the €300 million he paid for the sites would make cheap homes unviable and that at least he is providing them somewhere. For others it keeps lower income people at a distance from the well-to-do.

It has also been speculated that there won't be much affordable housing on South Wharf due to high land and decontamination costs. This 25-acre site in Ringsend was bought by a consortium led by developer Bernard McNamara for €412 million and is being developed in partnership with the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA).

Another speaker at the conference, Declan Jones, chief executive of Focus Ireland, says there's a strange situation in parts of Dublin where people spend years in emergency accommodation. "But at the same time it is almost impossible to achieve permission to provide social housing in these locations," he says. The city council is finding that workers, like gardaí, teachers and nurses, are not buying affordable housing as expected and, says assistant city manager Brendan Kenny, are frequently "too fussy" about locations. But if Part V worked properly, shouldn't there be cheaper homes available in most locations?

Mick Wallace, who makes no secret of the fact he's profited handsomely from the boom and has been treated well by the Government which supports business, says the less well-off are faring "very badly indeed" when it comes to housing. You might think that a man who has made millions out of selling pricey apartments has a cheek posing as a champion of the underprivileged, but he probably deserves a pat on the back for taking what may be an unpopular stance among developers. "Construction companies are in the business of making money; that's what they do," says Wallace. "I don't think, however, it is too much to expect a more ethical stance from our government so that the housing needs of the less well-off are prioritised ahead of the financial needs of those who least need their help."

The conference will also explore the notion of what makes a home as opposed to a house. According to Declan Jones, having a home means access to a place that is private, safe, secure and affordable, and is linked to a community and our sense of belonging. In the same week as the new city manager John Tierney announced that all new council homes in Dublin will be apartments and the council is to take the lead in developing high-rise schemes, Wallace warns that we can either continue to build houses for "the insatiable development of the economy" or for the development of a better society.

"All builders, including myself, are going to have to take more responsibility for the type of environment we are shaping. If we are building apartments we can make them more suitable for families. We need to raise the ceiling heights so that they are not oppressive places to live. We need to ensure that bedrooms are more than just extended hot-presses. We need to try to incorporate storage space. We need to ensure that there are play areas for children. At the moment we are obsessed with planting spaces around developments. But what good are shrubs for children who want to play football?"

It will be interesting to know if any of the big players in the squeeze-em-in, built-em-high residential market agree with his sentiments.