The Government should not bow to demands from builders to change legislation requiring them to set aside 20 per cent of all new estates for social housing, the country's four leading housing agencies have urged.
In a major review of the housing crisis, Focus Ireland, the Simon Communities of Ireland, Saint Vincent de Paul and Threshold criticised the Government's efforts to cope with the housing crisis.
The 20 per cent target contained in the 2000 Planning and Development Act should be "reshaped" so that it was not "merely a subsidised route into homeownership for middle-income families", but instead for those on the bottom of the ladder.
Builders blame the regulation for the drop in the number of new houses built, and also claim planning officials in local authorities are both inconsistent and poorly informed on the issue.
The latest Department of the Environment figures show that the number of families on local authority waiting lists has jumped by 23.5 per cent, up from 39,176 in 1999 to 48,413 in March this year.
"This latest figure could be significantly higher as it does not include people on the lists waiting to be assessed," warned the four agencies, who called on the Government not to cut spending on local authority housing.
They said local authorities and health boards should be funded to help them better cope with the crisis. In particular, efforts should be taken to ensure that new local authority housing is properly planned and located and not simply "dispersed".
Despite its Exchequer difficulties, the Government must prioritise housing, said the Simon Community. "A tight budget situation is no excuse for penalising people forced to live on the streets or pushing more people into that desperate situation.
"The Government have clear choices to make in this budget. Making the homelessness crisis worse cannot be one of them," said Ms Noeleen Hartigan, Simon's social policy and research co-ordinator.
