Social housing focus to be welcomed: IHBA

The Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA) has welcomed the report of the all party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution in relation to property rights.

In its report the committee recommended that land be zoned specifically for social and affordable housing.

It was also pleased that the committee realised that any changes in legislation in this area should have a positive impact on the supply, availability of building land and reduce its price.

Any change should not have a negative impact on housing output, the IHBA insisted also.

Matt Gallagher, Chairman IHBA said: "As an industry, we have called for this in the past. This act in itself would reduce the price of that land. The IHBA has been an enthusiastic partner with local authorities, particularly in the Dublin region in the provision of social and affordable housing.

"If these models of cooperation were extended nationwide, the supply of such housing would rapidly increase. What is needed is more leadership from central Government and local authorities in this area," Gallagher added.

The IHBA also pointed out that state lands available for social and affordable housing, there is still a huge amount of land in public ownership.

Much of this land could be used for a mixture of public and private housing, it said.

Responding to criticisms that the Irish construction industry was holding back or 'hoarding' development land Gallagher pointed to the completion figures in the building sector.

"Irish house builders are building new housing at a rate seven times greater than in Britain, six times greater than in Germany and more than three times greater than any other European country per head of population. No developed country in the western world has come close to this in the last forty years," he said.

Gallagher also compared the construction industry to other sectors in Ireland.

"In stark contrast to other sectors of the Irish economy, particularly professional services, house building is not a closed shop. There are no restrictions on new entrants to the industry.

"We built houses in the open market, which is a rigorous selector of success or failure," he concluded.