Leitrim auctioneer urges emergency planning reforms to ease housing crisis

A Leitrim auctioneer has called for the introduction of emergency planning laws for a period of time to boost housing supply until the provisions of the recently enacted Planning and Development Act come into effect. 

The proposal was made at the annual conference of IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, held on Friday, June 13.

“This would enable builders to get on with building homes while the overall planning system adapts to the new system, which is clearly going to take some time to crank up,” new IPAV President Fintan McGill told attendees.

“We’re all aware of the turgid issues with our planning system. Put simply, it places the public good in a subordinate position to the rights of individuals,” said Mr McGill, MD of DNG McGill Carrick-on-Shannon and Longford. “We’ve tolerated that situation for far too long.”

He noted that while the Planning and Development Act 2024, described as a massive piece of legislation, has introduced welcome reforms, implementation will take time. 

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Among the key changes is the transformation of An Bord Pleanála into a new body, An Coimisiún Pleanála.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of time, given the magnitude of what we face,” Mr McGill added.

As a short-term solution, he proposed that Senior Planning Officials and Council CEOs be empowered to jointly assess and approve planning applications for small housing developments of up to 40 units.

Mr McGill pointed to the severe shortage of supply and the unprecedented level of pent-up demand as key drivers behind rising housing prices, both for renting and buying.

“The Government has a big task but it must be strong in its response and explain to citizens why tough decisions are now necessary for supply to improve,” he said.

He also highlighted the toll the housing crisis is taking on younger generations. “Some are delaying starting families. Others are taking their skills abroad in the hope that they can return in a better position to buy a home.”

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In 2023, Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency, found that 68 percent of people aged 25 to 29 in Ireland were still living at home, compared to an EU average of just over 42 percent, showing a striking 26 percent gap.

Mr McGill criticised past policy efforts for being fragmented and overly punitive. Too many piecemeal interventions, he said, have “corrupted the smooth working of the housing market with an over emphasis on stick rather than carrot, over-regulation rather than positive incentives.”

“In the world in which we live, there are malign forces waiting in the wings to exploit and disrupt, if we don’t make progress on providing homes for our people,” he warned.