Sir, – I’d like for the Government to explain to us all how transferring some of the artificial price increase (not value) of rezoned land to the Exchequer will make houses more affordable for home purchasers.
Sharing windfall profits with landowners won’t reduce costs for housing. The tax will merely maintain the status quo at best, and likely cause an increase in housing costs, at worst.
The simplest solution, as I have written many times now, is to abolish the present rezoning system, which through artificial price increases, leads to speculation and land hoarding, and replace it with compulsory purchase by the State for the price of normal agricultural land plus some modest compensation.
The cost of the purchase of the land could be recouped in full by the State, but without profiteering, from the home purchaser.
As housing people less expensively is to the common good, both for people and the wider economy, there should be no issue under the Constitution, just argument about the amount of modest compensation above the price of normal agri-land, which a landowner would receive.
I would suggest no more than the price of the agri-land price again, after tax, as additional compensation. – Yours, etc,
DAVID DORAN,
Bagenalstown,
Co Carlow.
Sir, – I was somewhat taken aback to learn that the Government’s Housing Supply Clearing House Measure document estimates that the current number of unused planning permissions already granted is in the region of 80,000 units with some 40,000 of these in the Dublin region.
In view of this it might be prudent for our legislators to consider including a “pee or get off the pot” clause in the proposed changes to the Planning Acts.
This would state that decisions on any new applications from developers who have unused planning permissions more than five years old would be deferred until building on their already granted permissions had at least been started.
Obviously our legislators would need to use all their available wisdom to ensure there are no loopholes in the wording that would allow these developers to continue “to sit on the pot” while the current housing crisis continues to get worse . – Yours, etc,
NOEL SHANAGHY,
Faithlegg,
Co Waterford.
Sir, It was depressing to see Seán Mooney’s letter calling on the Government to stop providing social homes within city housing developments on the grounds of cost (“Council developments”, April 14th) Do we ever learn?
The evidence is irrefutable that tenure mixing is key to combating socio-spatial segregation and all the ills that go with it. Surely our children have enough problems to contend without adding a plethora of Detroit-type unintergrated enclaves to the list. – Yours, etc,
JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Sligo.