Developer O’Flynn calls for creation of housing ministry

Cork property developer Michael O'Flynn has called for a minister for housing to be appointed by the new government to deal with Ireland's "housing crisis".

Mr O’Flynn, who expects to build about 300 houses in Dublin and Cork this year, has also called for emergency powers to be introduced to fast-track planning applications.

In an interview with The Irish Times Business Podcast, Mr O'Flynn said: "We need a minister for housing and under that should also come planning and infrastructure because they are all connected.

“There are 12 government departments involved in housing. Make somebody responsible for delivering something that is critical to the country. The new government, whoever it should be, should do that.”

He also called for special powers to be introduced to speed up planning decisions.

“We need an emergency planning framework for two years or three years so that you get through the local authority in two months, you get through the Bord [Pleanála] within two months if you have a bona fide housing application that you can prove will bring houses to the market. We need to fast-track planning.”

Nama complaint

Mr O’Flynn is one of a number of parties that took a complaint in December to the

European Commission

alleging State aid in Nama’s plan to build 20,000 housing units over five years.

“The phase-one result should be out now . . . it’s expected in the next week or two weeks, when they [the commission] actually decide if there is an issue,” he said.

Mr O’Flynn said a decision by Brussels to launch a full investigation would place “question marks” over whether Nama would be allowed to build houses in the interim.

The developer forecast that 8,000-9,000 houses will be built here this year, when demand levels are 25,000-plus.

Mortgage restrictions

He was critical of the Central Bank’s rules on mortgage lending which require first-time buyers to have a 10 per cent deposit for the first €220,000 of their house price and 20 per cent on the balance.

“Perhaps 10 per cent across the board would be okay for first-time buyers, if they can afford to repay,” he said.

Mr O’Flynn has been involved in the UK market since 1985 and said he would be “alarmed” at a Brexit. “I had an interesting straw poll in my London office last week on the Brexit issue. I was really surprised at the people who said England should leave [the EU].

“Some of them ran away from that when I explained the likely consequences. I just don’t understand how the unknown for England is better than the known. I think it would be a huge problem for Ireland.”

Separately, rating agency Standard and Poor’s has suggested that it will be “some time” before the mismatch between demand and supply in the Irish housing market is rectified.