The Minister for the Environment has insisted there is "no change whatsoever" in the principle of the Planning Bill in relation to social housing. Mr Dempsey rejected opposition criticism that he has caved in to the building lobby. Mr Dempsey was responding to criticism of an amendment to the Bill, to be published next week, concerning the controversial proposal requiring builders to transfer up to 20 per cent of development sites to local authorities for affordable and social housing. Mr Dempsey signalled when the Bill was published last August that this amendment would be brought forward.
The amendment will broaden the options available to local authorities under the social housing provision. They will still be able to insist builders sell 20 per cent of each development site to the local authority at the agricultural land price, as proposed in the Bill when it was originally published. The local authority would then hire a builder to build houses for social use, or for sale at below market price.
However, under the amendment, a local authority will also be enabled to agree with the developer who owns the site that the developer will build the social housing, and sell it to the local authority. The local authority and developer will negotiate a price before construction begins, allowing for a profit on the construction of the house, but not on the sale of the land.
Mr Dempsey said yesterday that a local authority in this situation, which felt that the builder/developer was asking too high a price, could insist the land be transferred to the local authority at agricultural prices and seek alternative arrangements.
The Labour Party housing spokesman, Mr Eamon Gilmore, and Green Party deputy Mr John Gormley yesterday claimed the amendment was brought forward because of Fianna Fail's traditionally close links with the building industry.