Dublin: The Construction Industry Federation has urged the government to increase the amount of land set aside for housing purposes in Ireland as soon as possible. Land zoning is now done based on outdated population projections. The federation’s office-bearers will present the figures in this regard to the parliamentary committee today in order to clarify that this will lead to a housing crisis in the country.
The data still available for housing is based on old population data from 2011–16. But the data, without taking into account the increase since then, has hit the construction sector the hardest.
The federation stated that this makes Ireland’s land management process for housing ‘fundamentally flawed’.
Action needed to establish new connections:
Irish Water officials will appear before a committee of TDs and senators to demand new powers to acquire more land in order to speed up connections for new construction sites.
The latest data from the Census 2022 shows that Ireland’s population will be close to 5.15 million. According to experts, the main impediment to building homes in Dublin and the Mid-East region, particularly in Kildare, Meath, and Wicklow, is that even areas that could be built are now excluded from the housing zone.
The new Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures will help the Parliamentary Committee update the country’s National Planning Framework (NPF) and take appropriate urgent housing measures.
The parliamentary committee will hear about the challenges that construction and critical infrastructure will face in the coming years, as well as other institutions.
The disparity in figures
According to CIF officials, “in many places there is a lack of forward planning for infrastructure or delays in the delivery of new houses,” and “this year there are many different reports even on how many houses are required.” While the department claims that 33,500 houses are urgently needed, the Housing Commission estimates that up to 62,000 houses are needed in the country.
In recent years, housing construction has increased from less than 10,000 units per year in 2016 to nearly 30,000 units. “The number of houses to be supplied now is far more than what is being built,” documents to be presented to the committee state.
“Permissions and availability are urgently needed to provide more homes, more zoned land, more infrastructure, and more planning permissions.”
The Federation warns that the housing crisis can only be solved if the government commits to providing infrastructure such as water supply, sewage disposal, electricity, roads, and public transport on zoned residential lands. The federation demanded that the government invest in key projects as soon as possible to achieve the housing targets under the ‘Housing for All’ scheme.
Number of people who can live in the houses.
The Federation will also request that the Parliamentary Committee review the current rules governing the number of people who can live in each house. In Ireland, the maximum number of people who can live in each house is 2.7. But by European standards, this is 2.3 people each.
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