The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Planning and Development Bill 1999 and by so doing has reinstated the idea that the common good should take precedence over profit. The judges of the court deserve praise - as does the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey for sticking to his policy, in the face of trenchant opposition from the construction industry, traditional supporters of Fianna Fail. For some considerable time, the high cost and limited availability of housing has been threatening the State's long-term economic prospects. The single greatest financial burden facing many people - particularly first-time buyers - is the cost of a home.
Spokesmen for the construction industry who so decry the measures contained in the new Act, are to some extent the authors of their own poor standing in the eyes of many in the community. There is little sympathy for their case and talk of prices going up yet further to cover the cost implications of the new legislation serves to reinforce the public's judgment. There have been far too many instances of young couples deciding to purchase a house for an agreed price only to be told soon after that the cost has gone up - leaving them with no redress. Few would deny developers a fair return for the risks they take but the Government has responsibilities wider than any private company or group of shareholders. In this State today, too much poverty, exclusion and hopelessness exists side by side with conspicuous wealth and rising living standards brought about by the economic boom.
Earlier this year the Simon Community estimated that the number of homeless people had doubled in three years to over 10,000. Local authority housing lists also increased in the same period to just below 40,000 - a rise of 43 per cent. And, as the Bank of International Settlements reported on Monday, residential property prices here rose by an extraordinary 171 per cent between 1995 and 1999. No decent society can remain detached from the sort of human problems that flow from statistics such as these.
Under the new provisions, local authorities will be able to designate up to 20 per cent of lands zoned for residential use to be set aside for the provision of affordable housing schemes. Too many housing estates built over the past 50 years are essentially ghettoes - whether middle class or working class. If the social housing expedient of the new Act helps achieve a more balanced mix of people, then that will be all to the better for society as a whole. And if the measures also help promote non-profit building by housing associations, that too would be for the common good. At present, associations account for only about one per cent of housing output in the State - a lamentable figure by comparison with very many other north European countries where the bulk of non-private new housing is provided by associations rather than by local authorities. A partnership approach in which local authorities provide cheap land for housing associations may point to a more equitable future for people trying to get a home of their own.