Frustration in addressing Mayo housing crisis is starkly revealed
A former elected member of Mayo County Council has starkly revealed the frustrations involved in tackling the housing crisis in the county.
Senator Mark Duffy said before entering the Oireachtas, he spent the past six years working councillors across the county to improve housing supply.
The Ballina-based representative explained: "At every opportunity, we have tried to zone land, empower developers and build homes in our towns, villages and constituencies.
"At county development plan level, we were told to wait for a local area plan.
"I sat on the Northern and Western Regional Assembly and, again, at assembly level, we were told to wait for the local area plan.
"The assembly identified that Mayo was only meeting 30% of its housing output target.
"It was a drastically lower number than it had set its sights on."
Senator Duffy said the full agreement of all six councillors in the Ballina Municipal District was achieved in respect of zoning land for housing..
"We had agreement among planners and the plan went forward to the Minister and the Office of the Planning Regulator.
"This was only a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, all recommendations that were brought forward on this local area plan were rejected and refused, and the original proposal remained.
"On a local area plan level, councillors are trying their best to deliver, unlock and empower landowners who are ready to break ground.
"Two parcels of land were zoned residential but have now been dezoned.
"One has a live planning application for 90 houses, which will now be refused by An Bord Pleanála because the land has unfortunately been dezoned.
"It is a bizarre scenario, considering the lands that were dezoned were within walking distance of schools and shops, and more central than other housing estate developments.
"Can the Minister for Housing James Browne send a ministerial directive order to zone residential lands where there is capacity with wastewater treatment, the infrastructure in place in relation to lighting, footpaths and broadband, and the full political will at a local level?
"Can he send a mistrial directive regarding land that was already zoned residential, with the full support of the local area plan and the county development plan?
"Is it possible and within his gift to reconsider rezoning this land residential so we can begin to meet the existing needs and demands?
"That is only one element of a much broader challenge that the Minister has.
"We all want Minister Browne to succeed and we all want to work together on this.
"It is a real pinch point and sore point for my constituency when we have, in one town alone, more than 500 people on the social housing list and almost 800 people who have identified a desire for affordable homes.
"Yet, in Mayo, only five affordable houses were delivered in Westport as part of a 50-house social housing project.
"There are big challenges but there are also big opportunities.
"I welcome the proposal on modular developments in back gardens, if that is brought through and legislated for.
"It is not a one-size-fits-all scenario, but we need to empower families, homeowners and property owners who want to be part of the solution, and give people autonomy and independence.
"We have a brilliant modular home developer in County Mayo, namely, Big Red Barn, which creates fabulous, affordable A-rated homes and can help unlock that in back gardens.
"I would like for the Oireachtas to empower local authorities - whether it is empowering the councillors on zoning, empowering the councillors to use compulsory purchase order on people who are sitting on brownfield and derelict sites, speculating as the crisis further deepens, or empowering councillors as regards making compulsory sale orders so that local authorities can buy houses from property owners who have derelict or disused vacant properties and immediately get them back on the market."