Social and Affordable Housing: Part V of the Planning and Development Bill, 1999

• Author: Simon Hannigan
• Position: Junior Sophister Law student, Trinity College, Dublin
• Pages: 32-45

SOCIAL

AND

AFFORDABLE

HOUSING:

PART

V

OF

THE

PLANNING

AND

DEVELOPMENT

BILL,

1999

SIMON HANNIGAN*

Introduction

The

Local

Government

(Planning

&

Development)

Bill,

1999,

has

attracted

widespread

media attention

since its

publication

on

25

August

1999.

The

Bill

proposes

to:

[R]evise

and

consolidate

the law

relating

to

planning

and

development

by

repealing

and

re-enacting

with

amendments

the

Local

Government

(Planning

and

Development)

Acts,

1963

to

1999.'

The

Bill

also

provides,

under

Part

V,

for

the

provision

of

social

and

affordable

housing.

This

has

proven

to be

the

most

controversial

part

of

the

Bill

and it

is

the

constitutionality of

these

radical

provisions,

and

the

likelihood

of

them

surviving

a

constitutional

challenge, which

will

be

discussed

in

this

article.

Part

V

-

Housing

Section

80

provides

that

each

planning authority

shall include

in

its

development

plan

a

housing

strategy

for

the

existing

and

future

population

of

the area.

2

These

housing

strategies must

be

made

as

soon

as

possible

and

within

one

year

from

the

commencement

of

this

Part.

Furthermore,

section

80(4)(c)

provides

as

a

general

policy

that

a

specified

percentage, not

being

more

than

20

per

cent,

of

the

land

zoned for

residential

use

shall

be

reserved

under

Part

V

for

the

provision

of

social

and

affordable housing

in

such

housing

strategies.

Junior Sophister

Law

student,

Trinity

College,

Dublin.

Long

title.

2

Local

Government (Planning

and

Development) Bill,

1999,

section

80(1)(a).

3

Ibid.,

section

80(1)(a).

©

2000

Simon

Hannigan

and

Dublin

University

Law

Society