Dublin City Council has supported an emergency motion accusing central Government of "overreach" amid reports of plans, expected to go before Cabinet tomorrow, that local authorities would be precluded from requiring community facilities within apartment schemes.
Minister for Housing James Browne is expected to bring proposals to Cabinet tomorrow to change requirements around minimum apartment sizes, the mix of apartments in developments and communal spaces.
It is understood the proposed new guidelines specify that communal, community or cultural facilities within apartment schemes will not be required on a mandatory threshold basis due to the implications such requirements may have on the viability of projects.
The emergency motion, which was tabled by the Green Party and Labour Party, said the proposals would "gut the provision of 5% community or cultural space in SDRAs (Strategic Development Regeneration Areas) and developments of 10,000sq/m or more".
This, it described, as "a hard-won provision in the 2022-2028 Dublin City Development Plan".
It expressed the council's "deep dismay" at the proposals as detailed in "media reports" over the weekend.
It said these proposals would also "reduce the size and quality of people's homes", and represented "a developer-led race to the bottom and further reduction in minimum standards and guidelines when it comes to apartment developments, without any consultation or engagement with local authorities".
"This council expresses its grave concern at central Government overreach, its undermining of local democracy and its efforts to undermine the principle of sustainable community development," the motion said.
"The council seeks immediate clarity from Government on these guidelines and agrees to write to Minister James Browne seeking an urgent meeting," it added.
A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said that "in advance of the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, the department will not be commenting or issuing a statement".
It is understood the minister will tell Government colleagues the proposed changes will cut building costs by between €50,000 and €100,000 per apartment.
A number of emergency motions critical of Department of Housing actions under Mr Browne have been passed by Dublin City Council since the start of March.
The first motion called for Mr Browne to release funding for the Tenant in Situ scheme.
Another motion, passed last month, criticised the minister's decision not to fund three public private partnership social housing projects.
The minister pulled the plug on funding for a number of projects, which were about to begin construction, citing value for money concerns.
In all three emergency motions, including tonight's, meetings were requested with Minister Browne.
Mr Browne was accused of issuing a "blanket refusal to engage" with Dublin City Council by then lord mayor Emma Blain of Fine Gael, when two meeting requests she issued following the March motion on Tenant in Situ funding went unanswered.
A third invite was met with a reply that said the minister was "unable to facilitate this meeting request".
After Ms Blain contacted the Taoiseach Micheál Martin about the matter, Mr Browne invited the then lord mayor to a meeting to discuss the Tenant in Situ scheme in May.
'Gross undermining'
The motion was tabled by Green Party Councillor Claire Byrne and Labour Councillor Darragh Moriarty, but received cross party support.
Lord Mayor Ray McAdam of Fine Gael, Sinn Féin Councillor Daithí Doolan, Social Democrat Councillor Cat O'Driscoll, People Before Profit Councillor Conor Reddy, Independent Councillor Cieran Perry and Green Party Councillor Donna Cooney also put their names to it.
Addressing the meeting, Ms Byrne said the minister's proposals were a "gross undermining" and a "vicious attack on local government and our city development plan processes".
"We work hard to introduce policies to provide housing and to keep this city vibrant, diverse, safe and functioning," she said.
"To have a minister ride roughshod over those policies and the enormous work that has been done to date is simply crushing," she added.
She said that if the council "let this happen then where does that end? What is the actual point of councillors and what is the point of local government?".
Fine Gael Councillor Colm O'Rourke said media reports at the weekend had raised concerns.
Mr O'Rourke said: "We as elected representatives are being told, not through a memo, not through a document, not through any sort of communication to us, but rather through the media that key planning standards, including minimum apartment sizes and even the hard fought for 5% community space requirement, could be quietly watered down."
He called on Minister Browne and Minister of State at the Department of Housing John Cummins to "consult" the council "in the chamber".
Fianna Fáil Councillor Racheal Batten described it as "unfortunate" that they were discussing media reports and she questioned if this was the "right process".
"We're having a discussion on something we are not clear on, so I want to put some sort of caveat in relation to having a discussion on something that we don't have the full facts of," she said.
Ms Batten said she did not accept the argument that "we are moving into tiny boxes", adding that apartment sizes in Dublin are bigger than in some other European cities - such as Milan and Amsterdam.
However she said there was a need for better shared spaces in developments, adding that she wanted to "absolutely ensure that our 5% community spaces and culture spaces are maintained".
This, she described, as "extremely important."
