Thousands Left in Limbo as Over 1,100 Social Homes Stall in Planning Limbo for Over Three Years
Over 1,100 social homes have remained stagnant in various phases of the planning system for the entirety of the three-and-a-half-year period since the current government assumed power in June 2020.
When the government took office, there were 23,600 social homes in the planning pipeline, spanning statuses from pre-planning and pre-tender to final tender report, on-site, and completion. Shockingly, a total of 1,150 of these homes have shown no progress whatsoever.
Examples include 52 homes in Stranorlar, Donegal, which cleared Stage 2 approval in Q4 2019, and 28 homes on Thomas Davis Street in Cork City, Stage 3 approved in the same quarter. Disturbingly, 292 of these homes have never advanced beyond the ‘on-site’ stage in the planning process.
The Department of Housing suggests that build programs for multiple homes typically take between 18 to 24 months to complete, and many projects were expected to be delivered in the closing months of 2023.
Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, Thomas Gould, expressed concern over the delays in the planning system preventing families on social housing waiting lists from securing homes.
Gould stated, “This Government came into office in 2020. Since then, 1,150 homes in the pipeline have not progressed. These are potential homes, on-site or on plans, that have sat gathering dust for nearly four years now. That is not a pipeline; it is not an accurate representation of this Government’s housing delivery.”
Highlighting the human impact, Gould emphasized that each stalled unit represents a missed opportunity for a family to have stable, secure accommodation.
In response to concerns raised, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, in a recent Dáil session, announced that December witnessed over 3,000 housebuilding commencements, totaling more than 32,800 for the entire year. This marks the highest number of annual commencements on record, showing a notable increase of over 21.5% compared to 2022.
However, the disparity between the record commencements and the homes languishing in the planning process highlights a persistent challenge in translating plans into tangible housing solutions for those in need.
Source: Irish Independent
