Architects say deal should include clearing housing lists in five years

An agreement to clear local authority housing lists within the next five years should be included in any new partnership agreement between government and the social partners, the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) has said.

However the institute warned that if the project was to be attempted, there would have to be "serious upgrading" of the capacity of local authorities and housing associations".

In its submission to the social partners on plans to increase spending on local authority and affordable housing schemes, contained in the National Development Plan, Mr Jim Coady, vice-president of the institute, said a number of issues, including capacity and build-quality, needed to be addressed if the current housing shortage was to be alleviated.

Local authorities needed more staff in their housing departments and architectural offices to enable them to cope with both in-house developments and monitoring of work sent to outside contractors, he said.

Changes also need to be made in the voluntary housing sector which was very underdeveloped in Ireland, compared to European counterparts, according to Mr Coady.

"In Ireland voluntary housing schemes are usually at a very advanced stage before they can draw down funds and this creates a major impediment." Major changes were needed if we were to meet NDP's ambitious targets to increase the number of housing association houses from 500 a year to 4,000 a year, he said.

The institute was also concerned about the design of new schemes. "Good design is the constant ingredient of good buildings and successful neighbourhoods." He added that the Government should set up a five-year £20 million funded programme for research into the built environment.

Other measures included an overhaul of the building regulations to improve standards for the provision of natural lighting, ventilation and insulation. All State building projects should meet defined criteria for sustainable construction and operation, and mandatory energy-use standards should be set for large buildings, added Mr Coady.

The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal, Mr Bobby Molloy, has notified housing authorities of an increase in the number of houses they are authorised to build or acquire under a four-year programme 2000 to 2003.

The programme provides for 22,000 houses to be constructed or acquired and represents an annual increase of 1,000 houses on the allocation for 1999, which was 4,500 houses.