Irish developers and society as a whole are operating under a "major but rarely discussed contradiction" that is hampering the delivery of homes, an Oireachtas committee has been told.
The Oireachtas Housing Committee heard from a number of developers who are calling for more serviced sites to build homes along with an easing of planning requirements.
In his opening remarks, Chief Executive Officer of Glenveagh Homes Stephen Garvey told the committee that there was a contradiction that lies in the fact that Ireland needs thousands of homes quickly, but also wants these homes to be built under an increasingly stringent rule book, while being delivered at the lowest possible price.
He said Ireland "needs to place more value on the greater good than on those with an agenda" and that there was an element of what he described as the "planning elite seeking perfection, even if it delays or stamps out progress in delivering homes".
"It has often been said that perfection is the enemy of the very good. Let's not make it the enemy of the people whose need for housing is bigger and more urgent than ever before," he said.
Watch: Developer says element of 'planning elite' seeks perfection hampering delivery
Talk of 'planning elites not helpful' - Ó Broin
Responding to Mr Garvey’s opening remarks, Sinn Féin’s Spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin said talking about "planning elites" was "not helpful".
He told the committee: "I think in the last couple of months, some language has creeped into our public housing debate that I don't think is helpful.
"Talking about planning elites is not helpful...the largest high density housing scheme in the history of the State is Poolbeg West, the planning elite that you’re talking about designed that.
"There are occasions where stuff happens, and we need to ask ourselves why is more of that not happening, rather than engaging in debates that seek to create a certain level of division."
Mr Garvey said he saw Mr Ó Broin’s point, but that what his company saw in local development plans was that "perfection is the enemy of the very good".
"We’re coming to the table delivering somewhere between €50m to €60m worth of infrastructure and the planning system is not being progressed on the other side.
"We are in crisis mode on infrastructure so that is a real challenge," the Glenveagh Homes CEO told the committee.
Watch: Ó Broin criticises language used by developers
Zoned, serviced land 'almost non-existent' - Glenveagh CEO
Mr Garvey listed a number of issues his company felt was hampering delivery of homes.
He said the Government must ensure that a mandate issued to local authorities last May to find more land that can be zoned for housing is enforced.
He said zoned, serviced land was now "almost non-existent" and that if Ireland is "serious" about delivering thousands of new homes, it needed to be "serious about making the necessary land and services available for this level of building to take place".
Mr Garvey said accountability had to be ensured by every local authority in order to implement Government decisions quickly.
He said the legal system enables a "tiny minority to stall critical infrastructure projects" which can "grind national development to a halt".
Mr Garvey said overall, a system that is based on making progress was needed above all else.
"We need a sea-change in mindset.We need to stop pretending that a crisis can be resolved without a true crisis mentality, or without measures that are proportionate to the extent of the crisis we are in," he said.
Apartment building key to achieving housing targets - Cairn Homes CEO
CEO of Cairn Homes Michael Stanley told the committee in order to achieve Ireland’s overall housing targets, apartments must account for at least 50% of future output.
Mr Stanley said that as a result of decades of poor land use, only 10% of Ireland’s population live in apartments compared to an EU average of 48%.
He said the demand for apartments continues to grow, with younger people increasingly wanting well-located homes on and near transport, services and work offices.
Castlethorn Group Managing Director Ronan Columb said called for local authorities to immediately buy in to releasing more zoned land for development.
However, he said timely execution on these ambitions will be "critical" to achieving housing targets.
"This will require immediate buy in on the part of local authorities to releasing additional zoned land for development in 2026 and on the part of State utilities to prepare targeted heat maps matching land, operators and infrastructure to prioritising housing led infrastructure enablement in the same timeframe," he said.
Housing plan to be published within two weeks - Browne
It comes after Minister for Housing James Browne said he expects the Government's long-awaited housing plan to be published within the next fortnight.
Mr Browne said his department was putting the final touches to the plan, which will bring about a "step change" in delivering housing.
He said: "We’re on course to publish the housing plan next week... certainly within two weeks at the absolute maximum, we’re just putting the final touches on it, to assure it does reflect our values and principles, but most importantly, that it will bring about that step change in housing delivery.
"Housing For All delivered above its set of targets over its lifetime that it’s existed to date, but we need to get that with the step change.
"We’ve seen a significant increase in population in our country, so we need to make another step change in terms of delivering that, the housing that we need for people across the country."
Mr Browne said the original intention was to publish the plan over the summer. However, he said key steps were needed in order to deliver a "radical plan".
He said: "We needed to have the development plan, National Development Plan, bottomed out, but we also had to have the Budget, and we've seen significant developments in both the National Development Plan and the Budget that will impact the plan.
"Otherwise, we would have had a plan where we would have been effectively rewriting it for the additional record funding we got on the National Development Plan, and also the significant changes now in the tax measures.
"So I think what you're going to see is really in the plan. It's about the how, how we make that step change."
Uisce Éireann to be required to manage privately built wastewater plants
In relation to new proposals that will see Uisce Éireann required to manage new privately built wastewater plants, Mr Browne said it was crucial the plants are built to the same standard as Uisce Éireann.
He said: "In the case of wastewater development, directly delivered by developers, it will be overseen by Uisce Éireann and it will have to be to Environmental Protection Agency and Uisce Éireann standards.
"Uisce Éireann will take them over once they’re completed, and they will be insisting they are done to the same spec as Uisce Éireann. It’s just facilitating developers to be able to what Uisce Éireann is doing but to the same standard, and that is absolutely crucial.
"We believe that can be done and we’ve found a pathway to do that."
The plan for Uisce Éireann to be required to manage new privately built wastewater plants was brought to Cabinet this morning.
The move aims to speed up the delivery of homes in rural towns and villages that currently have inadequate water services.
Up until now this key infrastructure was solely in the hands of Uisce Éireann. But in a significant policy change builders will very soon be able to develop wastewater units.
Watch: Tánaiste says decision on wastewater plants will remove bottleneck on development
A shortage of such facilities has been blocking the building of homes on small but important pockets of land around the country.
Under the plan Uisce Éireann will set the standards for the treatment plants and they will take ownership of them once they are built and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Mr Browne also asked Uisce Éireann to progress the use of modular units which can be bolted on to existing wastewater plants to boost capacity in order to build more homes.
