Mattie McGrath: Says Government Policies Are Blocking House Building
Mattie McGrath criticised the Government’s handling of housing policy, welcoming fee waivers but arguing other measures undermine house building. He warned a planned 5% increase on concrete products, sewer capacity limits and bureaucratic hurdles are blocking development and harming the homeless.
Fee waivers welcomed
McGrath praised the Government announcement to waive Irish Water charges and planning and development fees for houses, saying those moves are welcome but limited by application deadlines and other conflicting actions.
Concrete price rise undermines building
He raised concern about a 5% increase on all concrete products from September, arguing that higher material costs will affect anyone trying to build, buy or rent a house and that such measures contradict fee relief.
Sewer capacity blocks local development
McGrath said many villages and small towns cannot get planning permission because of chronic sewer capacity problems across the country, preventing new housing in settlements and towns.
Bureaucracy and convoluted applications
He criticised the complexity of application forms and overlapping schemes, calling for simplicity in planning and approvals to allow people to build more easily.
Homelessness and human cost
McGrath described the recording of homelessness and deaths among the homeless and in state care as shocking, saying the Government appears "shockproof" to the human consequences of housing failures.
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Minister Luke, we can hear all night and all day talking about building houses, and it has saddened me, I have said it many times, I have spent five years on the Housing Committee, and we have lost our way, and the Government make announcements, take the announcement, and I welcome it very much, with the fees, waiving the fees for Irish water, and indeed the planning and development fees on houses, very much delighted, people are obviously, there is a deadline, people are caught in it, but then, sneakingly, and I raise the last week, the Taoiseach, you are going to allow a 5% increase on all concrete products, from September, so that is going to affect every man and woman in China, who wants to build a house, every man and woman, who wants to build a house, buy a house, rent a house, you name it, like, the one hand does not know what the other is doing, the bureaucracy is involved in getting planning, and in the lack of people being able to build in the country, because of Antarctica, people are very closely associated with your own party, and your members, and then the whole situation of not being able to build in a village, a small town, because there is no capacity in the sewer system, and that is a chronic situation, right across the country, there is no capacity in the sewer system, so you can, and this motion is good, and the parts of it are very, very good, but the Government are putting blocks in the way of people building houses, across the board, if you have a site and want to get planning, they won't give it to you, if you are inside the town, if you are told to build in a settlement, there is no capacity in the sewer, you can't get it, and then if you want, look for many of the schemes that are there, and at the convoluted application forms, and one cancelling out the other, so simplicity is what is needed here, and of course recording of the homeless, and people that are dying homeless is shocking, so what we seem to have, the Government seem to be shockproof, as regards, you know, feelings about people dying homeless, people dying homeless, people dying in state care, as well, that some have died from the lack of many issues.
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