LAST UPDATE | 23 Sep

TÁNAISTE SIMON HARRIS has said he plans to meet with the chief executive of Wicklow County Council over the zoning of land for housing in the county. 

It had been reported that land earmarked for the construction of up to 3,000 new homes in Co Wicklow was de-zoned by the local council despite orders from Housing Minister James Browne to all local authorities to zone more lands for housing.

At the party’s think-in in Cork last week, the Taoiseach Micheál Martin lashed out at the council stating that he was “shocked” at the report.

He hit out at chief executives of councils “the length and breadth of the country who seem to be displaying a degree of inertia and lack of proactivity” on housing.

He said the government will intervene as it is “not happy” with a number of chief executive officers of county councils.

Wicklow County Council subsequently rebutted the report, stating that it is currently undertaking an assessment but said, at this time, it is not evident that there is any shortage in zoned land in the county to meet the new increased housing targets.

It said the amount of land proposed to be zoned for new residential development in the draft local planning framework exceeds the current housing targets as set out in the Wicklow County Development Plan and would appear to be more than adequate to accommodate an increase in the housing target. 

The council also confirmed that there are no proposals to ‘dezone’ 3,000 houses worth of development land. 

Wicklow land for housing

Asked about the matter while in New York this week, Harris, who represents the constituency told The Journal: 

“So in fairness to Wicklow County Council, the county that I reside in, I think they’re making the points that their views were related to the previous planning figures. And now, when there’s a new national planning framework and the likes, that situation could change. I do intend to meet the chief executive of Wicklow County Council on this shortly,” he said. 

The Taoiseach also mentioned Dublin City Council in his recent remarks last week, stating that he had concerns that the council had articulated it doesn’t need to rezone anymore land for housing. 

“We’re hearing from some CEOs who don’t see the need for rezoning, where we just can’t comprehend this,” he said. 

The Journal asked Dublin City Council for comment but none was forthcoming by the time of publication.

However, it is understood that the new housing supply target for Dublin City Council is 8,196 units per year until 2034 and 6,075 units per year between 2035 and 2040.

It has also been requested to provide scope for additional provision of up to 50% in excess of this baseline in light of the urgent need to increase housing delivery.

It is understood that the planning department in the council has commenced an examination in preparation for the development plan review process, which includes the examination of zoned land for housing delivery.

However this will only commence in 2026. 

It is understood that councils such as Wicklow and Dublin, and a number of other councils around the country, are unhappy with being accused of “inertia”by the Taoiseach when it comes to delivering housing, with sources stating that they are merely operating under the framework set out by central government. 

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Housing emergency

The Tánaiste told The Journal this week that he agrees with the Taoiseach’s broader point that housing has to become an emergency for “every part of the state”.

“If housing is an emergency, it needs everybody in the state to act like an emergency. And it can’t just be an emergency for people who need a home or an emergency for government parties,” he said. 

While he said there are some excellent local authorities out there, “everybody needs to step up”. 

“We want more land zoned and if local authorities don’t do it, we will do it for them,” he added.

The Planning and Development Act gives those powers to the housing minister, he confirmed, stating that the message to local councils is: “Zone more land or we’ll zone it for you.”

“We can’t keep going around talking to younger people who are losing faith in the ability of the political system to solve the biggest societal challenge we face in this country, which is housing supply and being able to put a roof over your own head,” Harris said.

The same message is going out to Irish water, said Harris who outlined that a large amount of money has been given to the organisation.

“Now I want to see the connections to build the homes,” he said.

“Everybody needs to step up to the game and that’s the joint frustration of myself and the Taoiseach that we intend to channel in all of our engagements,” said Harris.