TÁNASITE SIMON HARRIS has acknowledged there is a “challenge” around parking ratios for new-build housing estates and that he will raise the matter with the Minister for Housing.

He made the comments during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today in response to a query from Dublin Mid West Independent TD Paul Gogarty. 

Gogarty asked the Tánaiste if existing parking-to-homes ratios can be revisited, and said there is a “growing crisis of the so-called parking wars”. 

As reported by The Journal last month, residents in new housing estates across Dublin and surrounding commuter belt towns say there is increasing tension in their communities over a lack of adequate car-parking facilities. 

Some parts of Dublin have just over half a car parking space designated for every new home.

In some instances, residents have reported cars being keyed and air being let out of tyres due to the parking disputes, while some homeowners have opted to install cameras to monitor their assigned parking spots. 

The tension is down to planning policy, which increasingly restricts the number of parking spaces allowed in new developments on the assumption that residents will rely more on public transport – but residents say transport services have not kept pace and are overcrowded and too infrequent.

Gogarty told the Dáil today that people have been sold the promise of sustainable living but have instead been “trapped in a planning vacuum”.

He said car use should be discouraged, but public transport is not a viable alternative for many people yet. 

In response, the Tánaiste acknowledged that there has been “real pressure” on infrastructure as more homes are built across the country. 

He said Dublin Mid-West, and new developments such as Adamstown, are perhaps a good case study for government to take action on. 

“I think it’s a fair point. I think all of this is always a balance. We are in a housing emergency. But the point is…practical requirements like where you park the car are not issues that are dismissed,” Harris said.

He concluded by saying he would raise the issue with the Minister for Housing, James Browne.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin raised the cost of home heating oil during Leaders’ Questions and called again for the carbon tax to be scrapped entirely. 

The Labour Party raised the climate crisis, with Deputy Ciarán Aherne pointing out that too many people cannot afford to retrofit their homes under the existing Government grant schemes. 

People Before Profit called for price caps on fuel. 

And Independent TD for Meath East Gillian Toole raised the shortage of public services, including childcare, in her constituency.