Government must abandon plans to reduce apartment sizes
Government must abandon plans to reduce apartment sizes - The Labour Party
- Public consultation is admission that last year’s apartment standards proposals were wrong
- Reduced standards risk poorer quality homes
Labour housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan TD has said the Minister for Housing’s decision to launch a public consultation on revised apartment planning guidelines is an admission that the Government got it wrong last year. Deputy Sheehan said the Minister must now go back to the drawing board and abandon proposals that would reduce apartment standards, warning that future generations should not be forced to accept smaller homes and lower quality living conditions.
Deputy Sheehan said:
“The Minister’s decision to revisit these guidelines is a clear admission that he got it wrong last year. We in Labour warned from the outset that reducing apartment standards was the wrong response to the housing crisis. The answer is not to ask people to accept smaller homes, less storage and amenities, and lower quality living standards.
“Apartments are not temporary accommodation. They are family homes, homes for older people, homes for workers and homes where people build their lives and communities. At a time when more people are living in apartments for longer periods of their lives, we should be raising standards, not lowering them.
“We know from history that poorly planned developments and inadequate living standards create long-term social and economic problems. Housing policy should focus on delivering homes that are affordable, energy efficient, accessible and designed around the needs of residents. Reducing apartment standards will not deliver the necessary social and affordable housing in order to deal with the housing crisis. It may result in some expensive build to rent apartments in Dublin and Cork.
“The Minister for Housing should use this consultation as an opportunity to abandon these flawed proposals altogether and return with a plan that puts people first. We need more homes, but we also need better homes. Government must go back to the drawing board and work towards planning standards that deliver affordable, high-quality housing that people can be proud to call home.”