Doubts over new housing commission

The announcement by the Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal, Mr Molloy, that he is to set up a Commission on Private Rental Accommodation was given a lukewarm reception by a conference on affordable housing in Dublin yesterday.

The conference, which was hosted by the Society of St Vincent de Paul, heard that there are over 40,000 households on public housing waiting lists. St Vincent de Paul, which itself provides over 300,000 bed-nights annually for the homeless, considers the housing crisis to be an epidemic.

While there was a general welcome for the Minister's proposed commission, some felt its scope would be too limited.

The conference was also the venue for the launch of the St Vincent de Paul housing policy document, Mixed Housing Mixed Communities, which calls for an urgent response to the present housing crisis.

Society president Mr Noel Clear said a balance must be found between the individual's right to property and the State's obligation to guarantee everyone a home. He said the society was calling for an increased number of affordable houses.

The conference was also addressed by Mr Mike Osman, a town planner and former chief executive officer of an affordable housing scheme in London. He said that in Britain, for every hectare developed, the developers were obliged to provide 25 affordable units of housing. In London, where most start-ups were in areas of urban regeneration, this was increased to 15 units per half-hectare. Mr Osman said however, that it was not always feasible for developers to build a social mix into new estates, and in these cases the local authorities would accept a commensurate sum of money instead.

This money could be used to provide affordable housing elsewhere, and because land prices for affordable housing could be cheaper than expensive developments, the money taken in lieu was often sufficient to provide more units than would have been envisaged in the private scheme.

This was criticised by some speakers from the floor of the conference, who saw it as allowing developers to buy their way out of their obligations. There was a fear that it could "ghettoise" affordable housing schemes.

Mr Frank Nevin, housing development manager of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, said it was that body's aim to establish a 20 per cent level of affordable housing in all new developments in the docklands.

He said the authority would be interested in advancing the affordable housing target through joint ventures with private developers. The scheme could be enforced through grant incentives for developers and capital allowances for owner occupiers.