Share this article:
The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and its member body, the Irish Home Builders’ Association (IHBA), have welcomed today’s Government instruction to local authorities to zone more land for housing.
Conor O’Connell, Director of Housing and Planning with the CIF said:
“We very much welcome today’s announcement that the Government will be instructing local authorities to zone more land for housing. The current amount of land zoned for housing is based on population growth projections following the census of 2016 and are significantly out of date.
“Land is the raw material for housebuilders and most, if not all, housebuilders are reporting that they are running out of zoned land. The current supply of zoned land is artificially constrained by these out-of-date estimations of population growth.
“Of course, land also must be serviced with utilities, and the recent increase in funding in the National Development Plan (NDP) for Uisce Éireann, Eirgrid and other enabling infrastructure should ensure, if implemented in a timely manner, that lands can be delivered for housing.
“The focus must now be on delivering housing. Local authorities must increase the amount of zoned land in their functional areas, and Uisce Éireann, ESB and Eirgrid must deliver the enabling infrastructure.
“Housing is our number one national priority, and this must be reflected in the manner that local councillors and local authority officials follow through on this instruction to zone more lands for housing.”