Aontú launches housing policy in Dublin
Aontú has launched its Housing manifesto today at Buswell's Hotel Dublin.
Peadar Tóibín, Leader of Aontú, presented the document to the media alongside candidates. As part of the party’s focus on housing, the manifesto includes initiatives to bring empty homes back into use, address the infrastructure deficit, protects renters and offers solutions to speed up the process of building homes.
Speaking during the launch, the Meath West candidate said:
“Our housing manifesto has a focus on solutions to the multiple crises that is holding back the potential of our young people and families all across the country to live in homes that are affordable, accessible and built quicker to meet demand.
Amongst our many proposals is a plan to work alongside planners and local authorities to produce a technical booklet in each Local Authority Area of pre-approved housing plans. These would include the various types of houses that would be permissible to build in these areas. It would cut out much of the wait time being experienced by home-builders currently in the planning application process.
We will build 15,000 social and affordable homes a year for the life of the next Dáil. An increase of €1.5bn on government expenditure.
Aontú in government will provide 8,000 vacant home grants of up to €70,000 each costing the exchequer €560m a year and will significantly reduce the bureaucracy and red tape surrounding the drawing down of this funding. We will provide a similar grant of up to €30,000 for refurbishment of above the shops accommodation. This will cost €60m.
We will reduce the regulation that is stopping so many people living in the centre of towns and ensure the turnaround time for 4,000 empty local authority homes will be reduced from 8 months on average to 2 months.
Aontú will zero rate VAT construction materials for the period of the next Dáil to lower the cost of building homes. This would cost €1.1bnand we will build accommodation for returning workers in a speedy fashion under Class 17 of the Exempt Development Regulations. This would cut down the time of build radically. It would cost €350m and will be known as Operation Shamrock.
In the Gaeltacht, Aontú will advocate for Údarás na Gaeltachta to be the planning authority the same as any County Council and for them to focus particularly on building houses for the local people of the Gaeltacht. Everyone born and raised in the Gaeltacht should be able to build a house on their own land.
For the vulnerable and disabled in our communities, Aontú will establish a statutory home support scheme working to ensure it is adequately resourced, rights-based and person-centred with equality of access to high-quality, affordable home support services for adults of all ages across the country.
These and many other initiatives form the basis of our common sense housing policy, which we believe can lead the country out of the housing crisis encourage young people to both stay and return home, and ensure the housing market I fit for purpose going forward.”
