Kildare developers 'sitting on planning permissions'

A Social Democrats councillor has said that a "damning" new report from the ESRI has highlighted the scale of Ireland’s housing crisis and the government’s "continued failure to act with urgency."

Cllr Chris Pender has warned that the latest government move – to allow planning permissions to be extended beyond five years – will only worsen the crisis and give developers a free pass to hoard land, both nationally and in Co Kildare.

“Here in Newbridge, we see the reality of the housing crisis every day – families on endless waiting lists, renters struggling with sky-high costs, and young people losing hope of ever owning a home,” said Cllr Pender.

“This proposal to extend planning permission does nothing for those people. It’s a gift to developers who already sit on planning permissions and delay building so that land values keep rising. There are sites in Kildare that were approved for housing years ago, and not a single home has been delivered. This change rewards that kind of behaviour.”

Cllr Pender supported concerns raised by Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson, Deputy Rory Hearne, who said that rather than addressing the housing emergency, the government is once again making superficial changes that suit developers, not communities.

“We were promised that the massive Planning and Development Act passed last year would fix the system,” Pender continued.

“Yet here we are, a few months later, and the first thing the new Housing Minister does is rush in another planning change – one that benefits developers, not ordinary people.”

According to the ESRI and Central Bank, the government is once again on course to miss its housing targets by a wide margin.

“This is a disaster of the government’s own making”, Cllr Pender said.

“Tinkering with planning laws won’t solve it. Lifting rent caps won’t solve it. We need an emergency response – one that delivers public and affordable housing at scale, uses public land for public good, and holds developers to account with ‘use it or lose it’ planning rules.”

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