Constructing a House of Cards? Social and Affordable Housing in Ireland: Policy in Practice
| Author | Brid Cannon |
| Position | LLB (Dub). The author would like to thank Mark Coen and Patrick Horan for their comments on an earlier draft of this article |
| Pages | 21-43 |
CONSTRUCTING
A
HOUSE
OF CARDS?
SOCIAL
AND
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
IN
IRELAND:
POLICY
AND
PRACTICE
BRID
CANNON*
Introduction
One
of
the
most radical and
innovative
pieces
of
planning legislation
introduced
in
Ireland
is,
without
doubt,
Part
V
of
the
Planning
and
Development
Act
2000,
as
amended
by
the
Planning
and
Development
(Amendment)
Act
2002.'
Having survived
constitutional challenge
and
been
given
a
mandate
by
the Supreme
Court,
this
legislation
represents
a
complete
turnaround
in
the
traditional
perspective
on
the
function
of
planning
permission.
The
traditional
view has
been that the
planning
control
system
represents
a
restriction
of
property
rights.
However,
given
the
judgment
in
In
re
Article
26
and
the
Planning
and
Development Bill
1999,2
it
appears
that
the
system
can
now
be
looked
on
as
one which
represents
an
enhancement
of
these rights.
3
As the
judgment
acknowledges,
it
is
accepted
on
behalf
of
the State
that the
use
of
planning
legislation,
which
has
traditionally been
concerned
with
the
orderly
and
beneficial planning
and
development
of
the
physical
environment,
for
a
purely
social
objective
of
this nature
is
novel
and
even
radical.
4
This
approach
was
adopted
on
policy considerations;
as
the
Act itself
states,
its
aim
is
"[t]o
provide,
in
the
interest
of
the
common
good,
for
LLB
(Dub). The
author
would
like
to
thank
Mark
Coen
and
Patrick
Horan
for
their
comments
on
an
earlier
draft
of
this
article.
Any
errors
or omissions,
however, remain
the
author's
own.
I Hereafter
referred
to
as
the
PDA
2000.
2
In
re
Article
26
and
the
Planning
and
Development
Bill
1999
[2000]
IESC
20;
[2000]
2
IR
321;
[2001]
1
ILRM
81.
3
Gareth
Simons,
Planning
and
Development
Law (Thomson
Round
Hall,
2004).
4
James
Macken, "Social and
Affordable"
(2000)
6
(1)
Bar
Review
41.
© 2007
Brid
Cannon
and
Dublin
University
Law
Society
Trinity College
Law Review
proper planning
and
sustainable development, including the provision
of
housing.',5
Given
the
implications
of
this
for
planning policy, this
article's
main
focus
will
be on
policy.
It
is
proposed, first,
to
examine
the
historical
evolution
of
the
phenomenon
of
social and
affordable
housing;
secondly,
to
outline
some
of
the
main
provisions
of
the
Act;
thirdly,
to
explore
some
of
the
economic
aspects
of
the
scheme
and,
finally,
to
examine
how
the
Act
correlates with
everyday practice
amongst
local
government.
The
question
of
whether
or
not it
has
been
a
successful
initiative
will
be
asked
and
some
recommendations
will be
posited.
Built
on
shaky
foundations:
evolution
The idea
for
social
and
affordable
housing
itself
is
not peculiar
to
Ireland,
but,
as
with
so
much
of
our legislation
and policies,
is
something
that
we
have
borrowed
from United
Kingdom.
6
Although
town
and country
planning
in
that
jurisdiction
has long
been
concerned
with housing
policy
matters,
land
use
planning
had
not
been
used
directly
to
meet
housing
needs until
the
late
1980s
and 1990s.
An
implicit
separation
of
functions
between housing
and
planning
policy existed
into
the
late
1980s.
The
task
of
planning
policy
was
twofold;
first,
to
calculate
the
overall
requirements
for
new
dwellings
and
to
set
these
out
in
statutory
plans
and other
policy
documents
at various
spatial
scales;
and
secondly,
to
ensure that
the
policy
then
made
provision
for adequate land
to
meet these requirements,
either
by
allocating
specific
sites
in
development
plans
or
by
setting out
policies
to
be
used.
7
In
the
exercise
of
these functions,
local
planning
authorities
did
not,
until
the
1990s,
identify
separate
affordable housing
requirements
in
statutory
development
plans.
8
Planning
policy for
affordable
housing
essentially
dates
back
to
the
1970's,
when
planning
agreements
began
to
be
5
2000, Short Title.
6
An
almost identical policy
also
exists
in the
USA
entitled
'inclusionary
zoning';
which
typically details
that
a
minimum
percentage
of
units,
to be
provided
in
a
specific
residential
development,
are
affordable
to
a
particular
income group.
Some
incentives
in
the
form
of,
for
example, high-density
development,
a
relaxation
of
development restrictions
relating
to
height,
or
open
space, wavers
of
permit
fees
or fewer developer-required
amenities,
are
provided.
See
generally,
Oxley,
Economics,
Planning
and
Housing
(Palgrave,
2004).
Sarah Monk,
Tony
Crook,
Diane
Lister,
Steven
Rowley,
Christina
Short
and
Christine
Whitehead, "The
achievement
of
affordable
housing
through
the
planning
system"
in
Monk
and
Whitehead
eds,
Restructuring
Housing
Systems:
from
Social
to
Affordable
Housing?
(Joseph Rowntree Foundation,
2000).
8
Ibid.
[Vol.
I0
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