A housing expert has said the country just needs to “let it rip” and become a place where builders are just “allowed to go for it”.
Last year, the Oireachtas passed the Planning and Development Act 2024 which the Government promised would significantly speed up the process for house buildings.
On The Pat Kenny Show, Irish Mortgage Brokers’ Karl Deeter said the reforms do not go far.
“My thesis at this stage is that we have to let it rip,” he explained.
“I really do mean that; just zone the whole country and say, ‘You can build housing except for national parks, flood plains and a few other areas.’
“We basically zone the whole country as suitable for housing, as long as you can fit a few caveats.
“You have access to a road or you build your own access to a road, you have access to water or you can get your own water, you have access to drainage or you can get your own drainage.”
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Mr Deeter continued that the current planning system is far too onerous and expensive for applicants.
“If people were just allowed to go for it and not go through a planning process, that basically costs as much as the deposit for your house,” he said.
“We seem to think in Europe that we’re the standard - we’re not in the level of standards and regulations, red tape [and] housing prevention.
“People come up with all sorts of arguments, ‘What about the scenery? What about people living far from the shops?’ Whatever.
“What’s the trade off? What we have now?”
A building site. Picture by: Alamy.com.Mr Deeter added that planning regimes in other countries are far simpler than the one Ireland currently has in place.
“I see this in action, North America, South America - all over the place,” he said.
“A decent inspection regime; you’re allowed to build in many different ways, many different typologies - there’s all sorts of things nowadays.
“There’s printed houses, there’s prefabs, there’s houses that come in modular units.
“There’s all sorts of stuff and half the time we can’t even start looking at these because our regulations won’t let it happen.
“We’ve tried to plan our way to success and failed every single time and failed. So, just let it rip and see what comes in.”
Mr Deeter said the status quo has created an ‘economic famine’ in Ireland, which has created misery for the many thousands of people locked into a lifetime of renting.
“You create a future where they stop having kids, where they stop doing all sorts of things, they stop having a future,” he said.
“You can’t take that from the younger generation.”
Last year, 30,330 new homes were built in Ireland - fewer than the 32,525 built in 2023.
Main image: A building site. Picture by: Alamy.com.
