Minister breaks promise to cut through social housing red tape

Local Authorities discretion to build new units still capped at €2m

Fianna Fáil Housing Spokesperson Darragh O’Brien has criticised Minister Eoghan Murphy for back tracking on promises to slash red tape for local authorities.
Budget 2019 had agreed to increase the discretionary cap for Local Authority spending on social housing from €2m to €6m.
This would mean Local Authorities could build up to 30 units without going through the 4-step process that takes over a year to complete. Minister Murphy confirmed the cap would not be increased at the Oireachtas Housing Committee earlier this week.
Deputy O’Brien said: “Supply is the key to solving our housing crisis. Local Authorities need to be able to put bricks and mortar into the ground but are being caught up in red tape by the Department. Last year Fianna Fáil pushed for an increase in the discretionary cap from €2m to €6m to expand the number of homes a local authority could build through a simple one-step process. However Fine Gael have backtracked on this and refused to increase the cap.”
“Instead of accelerating delivery, projects are being stuck in the bureaucratic mud rather than getting on site. It’s another example of a Fine Gael government who have turned their back on this housing crisis. Including HAP tenants there are over 130,000 people on social housing waiting lists. A €6m cap would allow Local Authorities and small to medium size builders get a real start in cutting those numbers down. ” Deputy O’Brien concluded.