UNDER questioning from Labour housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan in the Dáil, Housing Minister James Browne failed to provide any solution to increasing apartment delivery.
Deputy Sheehan told the Housing Minister that “we have a crisis when it comes to delivering a mix of housing stock in this country”.
“Last year, approvals for apartments dropped by 39 per cent. With The Irish Times now reporting that the Croí Cónaithe cities scheme has only delivered 17 per cent of its target, it’s clear that we need a new approach to delivering homes.”
The Minister agreed with Deputy Sheehan that apartment construction viability is a huge issue, saying it has effectively “collapsed”, yet offered nothing by way of a solution to this crisis.
“Rather than grasping the nettle, the Minister reiterated that he is waiting on yet another report. But where are the new measures? The Minister himself agreed that we need to take radical action, yet he seems wed to the same tried and failed housing policies that have brought us to this mess,” Sheehan told the Limerick Post.
“There has been no shortage of housing schemes, but little to no real delivery of homes for those who desperately need them. Take Limerick for example. Rents have risen by 19 per cent and house prices are up by more than 10 per cent.
“When will Fianna Fáil wake up to the fact that these schemes are badly designed and far too expensive to deliver affordability for people?”
The trends in housing, Deputy Sheehan opined, are all going in the wrong direction.
“The failure to make apartment construction viable means that the delivery of homes continues to fall, and raises serious concerns for the long-term supply of housing. The Minister needs to do more than nod and agree. We need a change of approach to make apartment construction viable.”
Responding to the Labour TD in the Dáil, Minister Browne said: “I agree in that apartment delivery has collapsed. That is very clear. We need to have radical thinking in terms of how we get that supply of apartments moving again. That is where the significant shortfall in reaching our targets has happened, particularly in Dublin City, but also in our other cities, including Limerick.
“Apartments need to be delivered. I intend to take significant action to get those moving. I am waiting for the Housing Agency to publish its report in the next couple of weeks. We will examine its proposals in certain areas and look at what we need to do to ensure we get apartments delivery moving again. We need to take radical action on it.”
