A chara, – The people are getting bigger and the apartments are getting smaller. – Is mise,
LOMAN Ó LOINGSIGH,
Dublin 24.
Sir, – Having heard what the people concerned with the new smaller apartments had to say, I am left wondering whether they are being built for the greedy rather the needy.
– Yours, etc,
DAVID CONWAY,
Dublin 9.
Sir, – I am against the development of bedsits (or studios, as Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly prefers to call them) as a sustainable or appropriate form of housing.
Some of us have learned how long-term bedsit living has impacted on the health and mental welfare of tenants. The question of private or social housing is irrelevant in this regard.
To have to cook, live and sleep in one room is not an option that should be supported by housing policymakers. – Yours, etc,
Cllr VICTOR BOYHAN,
County Hall,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Is the Minister for the Environment writing Doonesbury now? – Yours, etc,
DAVID MURNANE,
Dunshaughlin,
Co Meath.
Sir, – In overriding the ability of local authorities to set standards, the Minister for the Environment has also further eroded the paltry level of local government that exists in this country. – Yours, etc,
DARA CARROLL,
Ballybrack,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – I am disappointed at the announcement by Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly to reduce design standards and minimum apartment sizes.
Over the last 20 years local authorities such as Dublin City Council have been attempting to improve the design and construction of our housing, and the Minister’s announcement undoes much of this good work.
There is no evidence that the Minister’s changes will result in any reduction in the cost of apartments for the consumer, but they will result in a lowering of the quality of life and environment for (predominantly) renters in our towns and cities.
These cuts will not help create sustainable communities, enable lifelong accommodation or offer viable alternatives to Ireland’s problem of low-density suburban sprawl.
Mr Kelly is also incorrect in stating that Ireland has some of the most generous housing space standards in Europe.
Housing is not rocket science but a relatively straightforward endeavour, at least in the majority of our European neighbours.
If the Government is serious about reducing the cost of housing, it should look at cutting local authority development levies and associated costs. The recent amendments to the building regulations process by former minister for the environment Phil Hogan has also added a huge amount of cost and paperwork, with, unfortunately, limited, if any, benefit to the consumer.
A proper system of land tax would incentivise developers to build and not hoard land. Dublin City Council’s recent vacant land levy is a positive step. The Government could further incentivise the refurbishment of derelict and semi-derelict buildings and brown-field sites through the tax system, and introduce a reduced VAT rate for working with protected structures.
Enforcing building regulations, along with a proper housing strategy that does not rely on the gimmicks of prefab housing, is key. The Minister’s recent prohibition on passive house standards for local authority housing is another example of short-term thinking, at the expense of both the environment his department is supposed to protect and also the lifecycle cost of houses.
Rather than listen to the vested interests of private developers, lobbyists and the construction industry, the Minister would be wise to mind the interests of citizens in the run-up to a general election. – Yours, etc,
STEPHEN
MULHALL, MRIAI
Lecturer,
School of Architecture,
University College Dublin.