New Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Simon Coveney, tells reporter Pádraig Hoare that he is “on a mission” to solve the government’s “number one issue” of housing and homelessness.
High expectations can be dangerous, but you need to aim that high, according to new Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government, Simon Coveney.
Minister Coveney says he doesn’t know how long he has left in politics — “that’s up to the people of my constituency” — so if he is to make his new role count, he must do so quickly. That means a mass house-building programme, with the next six months crucial in tackling homelessness, given that families are living in hotels and temporary accommodation.
“I’ve been in politics for 17 years, which seems like a long time for someone in his early 40s. I’m in politics because I want to change things and improve people’s lives, where I can.
“That goes for Cork, and the rest of the country. I won’t shirk challenges. The number-one priority for this government is housing. The two most challenging briefs will be my brief, as well as health.
“In reality, it’s likely to be a two- or three-year government. I felt this brief was one in which I could do a lot, if I could get a consensus on what needs to be done. I am looking to get priority, from the very top of government, on the acceptance of quite radical policy change on housing, if that is what is needed.
“I made it very clear to the Taoiseach, if I was to take on this job, that I needed his support, and that of the other departments, if I was to do what I needed to do.”
The need for homes for thousands of families all over the country, in social, affordable, and private housing, is priority, but the first thing that needs tackling, in the immediate future, is homelessness, he says.
“I consider the housing shortage, the pressure that many couples are under, in terms of meeting repayments, rough sleeping in Cork, Dublin, and other cities, is just not acceptable in a modern society. The resources that Ireland has means we should not, or cannot, stand over people on the streets.”
“Yes, we have emergency accommodation and beds being made available in B&Bs and hotels. But there is a more comprehensive response needed. I have met with a number of key organisations, such as Simon Community, Focus Ireland, and Fr Peter McVerry. Maybe Fr McVerry is right that my job is the hardest in government, but I’m not in this career for an easy life. As of March, adults in emergency accommodation are 4,000. Families are 955. Children are just under 2,000. Those figures are unacceptable. But I think we could impact on those figures very quickly.”
Cork City Aerial Picture. Pic: Denis Scannell
It means a mass-building programme that is fast-tracked through the planning process, according to Mr Coveney. That means chief executives of local authorities using their statutory emergency powers (normally for a national crisis) to greenlight landbanks for housing.
“We need many more houses. I’m going to drive a social-housing building programme that will be ambitious. I want that underway immediately. Now, I have to act within the law and we cannot simply rely on the private sector. There was a shift, during the Celtic Tiger, away from local authorities providing housing for people towards supplementing rental costs. It was a mistake and we need to correct it. Local authorities do need to have a housing stock. I called all the chief executives of local authorities together. I made it very clear that, within 10 working days, I wanted a plan for a dramatic impact, within six months, on housing starts and completions within the area of social housing. I’ve asked them to be demanding of me, but there is no time to waste. I’ve asked for them to use emergency powers, which allows them to effectively fast-track decisions on publicly-owned land.”
He says the land is available — it needs to be used.
“We do have public land and a lot of zoned land available, in and around Cork City. We have plenty of land zoned for housing. We have other sites, such as the Docklands, where Howard Holdings previously had planning for 541 apartments. They are now bust, but there is a NAMA involvement in that site, which still has full planning. There are things we can do to work with entities like NAMA, and local authorities, to get private housing supply increased. We need to try and push that as quickly as we can. CPOs take time, so the place to start is publicly-owned land. To effectively plan and design houses without a long planning delay.”
He rejects the notion that rapid-build homes and modular housing will lead to American-style trailer parks or high-rise apartment blocks beset by stigma and other social problems.
“The rapid-build units built in Ballymun were expensive, but it was basically showing how quickly things can move. When you look at them in Ballymun, they don’t look any different to any other house. We need a mix. We have a mismatch, because most homes being built are three-bed semi-detached. There are many different types of people looking for different houses. I will not stand over a situation of isolated social housing, where there is a stigma attached to that estate. We need to create integration.”
If he recognises the crisis now, then why didn’t the government do something about it as it was brewing, over the past five years?
“The last government did try to get the construction industry up and running again, but it was very broken. Banks were not lending, were risk-averse, builders went bust, the capacity to get mortgages was much weaker than it should have been. That’s led to the last 12 months. Many of the families, and some of the individuals, that find themselves homeless is down to not being able to pay the rent or the mortgage any longer. So, we do have a fundamental problem in Ireland, where there are not enough houses. The truth is that over the last decade we’ve seen the construction industry collapse. It was 90,000 houses at its peak to actually collapsing to 5,000 houses. You need 25,000 units a year, in terms of new families and couples. We’ve had nearly a decade of under-supply.”
He says that while he talks an ambitious strategy, it will need cross-party cooperation to succeed.
“It is not easy, and if it was straightforward as I am making out, it would have been done years ago.
“But I’ve never been more motivated by a challenge. I want a practical response to a situation where so many families need the help of the State. I want it to be non-political. I’ll need the cooperation of all parties. Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil, are very important in this context, because they are in positions of power in many local authorities. I want to work with their spokespeople, because I’ll need them involved.”
He says it is personal for him, now that he is Minister for Housing.
“Everytime I see someone sleeping on the street, now, I tell myself it is my responsibility. I won’t fail, because I cannot fail. I thrive on proving people wrong. There are people who Ireland are abandoning to the streets, but it is just not acceptable anymore”.
Minister Simon Coveney pictured at Haulbowline in Cork. Pic: Diane Cusack
Resolve the Cork local government debate now
The future of local government in Cork cannot be “left on the shelf”, according to new Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Simon Coveney.
The proposed merger of Cork City Council and Cork County Council, into one, super local authority, as proposed by the Smiddy Report, caused deep divisions among city and county councillors, when it was published last September.
The debate about unifying the city and county councils led to disagreement in Cork, with political and business sectors split on the issue. Cork Chamber claims the single-authority approach is a winning formula, but the Cork Business Association says it represents its worst fears.
The fallout over the committee’s recommendations — which favoured, three-two, to amalgamate the councils — has not abated.
Then Minister for Local Government, Alan Kelly, announced he wanted to implement the recommendations, but the opposition was such that the plan was not put in motion, before the former coalition government left office.
Cork City councillors were so vehemently opposed to the plans that they voted to seek a judicial review of the proposed merger, becoming the first local authority to challenge the constitutionality of government policy in relation to combining local authority areas.
Mr Coveney said that things could not be left as they were.
“The structures are not what they should be and there needs to be more integration. I thought that the city was the big winner, actually. But, look, my style is not to force the issue.”
He said that he would de-politicise the issue when re-examining it in the future, and that he would not commit to another taskforce, such as the one led by Alf Smiddy
“Maybe de-politicising it is the way. No side is going to get 100% of exactly what they want. There are middle-ground positions on where we can start.”
Mr Coveney said he also wanted to examine the possibilities for strategic development zones (SDZs) within Cork City.
SDZs, such as Cherrywood and Clonburris, in Dublin, seek overall planning for an area, then grant permission for subsequent applications deemed consistent with it.
Proponents say it speeds up development and that, once an overall plan is given the go-ahead, then objections to individual components cannot be made afterwards, ensuring smooth sailing and quick delivery.
Monard, on the outskirts of Cork City, has been in the pipeline by Cork County Council for years, but has yet to be approved by An Bord Pleanála, with a large number of residents opposed to the plan for a new town.
Debate on water issue needs to be toned down
THE issue of water is not nearly as important as housing and homelessness and the debate surrounding the future of water charges needs to be toned down, according to Simon Coveney.
The new Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government — which includes the delivery of water — said that too much time and energy was taken up by water when there were more urgent issues to tackle in Irish society.
Water charges have been suspended for nine months while an independent commission examines the future of water provision in Ireland. Their recommendations will need approval by the Dáil and analysts say that no opposition parties would dare to vote for them to be brought back in this Dáil cycle. Irish Water remains the body that is overseeing the upgrade of the water system in Ireland, which is known to be badly outdated.
Mr Coveney said: “Irish Water will get on with it, but the State will have to be pick up the tab. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — to abolish Irish Water would be an absolute disaster. What people need to realise is that Irish Water will put an end to the scandal of 50,000 homes in the Cork Harbour area having sewage pumped into their communities.”
He said that the future of water and the energy given politically to the efforts to dismantle Irish Water were not worth it.
“Water charges are not as important as housing and homelessness. We allowed ourselves to get bogged down in it when there are much more urgent problems in society that need our attention. We need to try and tone down the debate from here on in. In comparison with health and housing, it is a non-issue.”
He conceded that the imposition of water charges was a tax too much for many Irish people. “We tried to bring in a system over two years when it should have taken 10.”
He rejected criticism from previous Minister for the Environment, Alan Kelly, that Cork Harbour would not now get its much-needed funding for its sewerage scheme because of the suspension of water charges, saying it was inaccurate to say it would not happen because the money was committed.
Irish Water is to upgrade the wastewater network in Cork includes a €91 investment in Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Scheme, which will provide a new wastewater treatment plant serving Cobh, Carrigaline, Passage West/Monkstown and Ringaskiddy.
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