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Building Homes, Linking People

Transport, Housing and Planning

The Challenge

Despite our prosperity, and despite record levels of house building, we find ourselves in the midst of a housing crisis. Almost half a million new houses have been built in the past decade alone, but average house prices have trebled. Thousands of young people cannot afford to buy a home from their own resources, especially in the cities. There are twice as many people on waiting lists for council housing as there were ten years ago, and 60,000 trapped on Rent Allowance.

The outgoing government has failed to harness record levels of residential construction to meet the housing needs of the very people whose efforts have made the economic boom possible. They have maintained a menu of tax breaks for investors in residential property, while abolishing the First Time Buyer's Grant. A new two-tier society has evolved in Ireland: those who can afford to buy up lots of property and those who cannot afford to buy their own home.

New homeowners who start their commute in the dark to beat mounting daily congestion would not be surprised that in 2006 Dublin was used by the European Environment Agency (EEA) as a worst case example of urban sprawl. Like other cities, towns and even villages around the country, Dublin's expansion was, and continues to be, ad hoc and developer-driven.

We have half a million more houses now than we did ten years ago, but weaker communities. Housing estates with hundreds of new homes have been built with no shops, schools, doctors, childcare, public transport, recreational facilities or job opportunities nearby. Young parents find that they are forced to spend more time in the car than with their children. Existing schools have had to house Junior Infants in school gyms to cope with unprecedented population changes.

Planning profoundly affects how we live. It affects where we live, how we get around, how much time we spend commuting and how much time we have for rest and recreation. It affects where we shop, where our children are educated, play, or get treated when they are sick, and what our teenagers do in their free time. It affects the quality of our environment and the delivery of public services.

The construction boom has treated houses as an end in themselves instead of the homes and communities they become. Good public transport is essential to linking these communities to work, leisure and essential facilities. Joined-up planning is too important to be neglected any longer.

Ireland can do better

Developer-led planning ignores the vital social element of where we live, work and play. Everyone should have a good quality home at a price they can afford and in sustainable communities that are planned with the interests of those communities, existing and future, in mind. Ireland should be one of the most attractive places to live in Europe.

What Labour will do

Making home ownership a reality

What Labour will do:

Introduce a new housing option called 'Begin to Buy'. Those who cannot purchase a home from their own resources alone, and who can demonstrate a clear need for housing, will be eligible to apply for a 'Begin to Buy' home purchase scheme. This would allow a person in employment to buy a minimum 25 per cent stake in a home, with the state meeting the rest of the cost. As the individual's financial circumstances improve, he or she can increase their equity in the home.
Expand the scope of the Affordable Housing schemes so growing families or those who need to move for work or family reasons will be able to qualify. We recognise that it is not only first-time buyers who are under pressure.
The NESC has recommended social housing output should be increased to 10,000 per annum for the next seven years. We are committed to meeting this target through increasing local authority output and actively supporting the voluntary and cooperative sectors to reach their full potential.
Reform the Tenant Purchase Scheme for local authority tenants, introduce a tenant purchase scheme for the voluntary and co-operative sectors subject to consultation with the relevant stakeholders, and encourage tenant purchase in the private sector to maximise the number of people who can buy their own home.
Over time, replace the Rent Allowance scheme with a new form of housing support based on need, income and family circumstances. Receiving rent allowance should not be an obstacle to employment.

Delivering affordable homes

We will ensure that the Affordable Housing Schemes deliver a minimum of 5,000 homes per year by strengthening the Part V provision of the Planning Act.
Public land that could be zoned for affordable homes has been steadily sold off by the FF/PD government to private speculators. We will immediately halt this practice. In addition we will impose tighter restrictions on the sale of public lands and legislate to bring public open spaces under the control/ownership of local authorities.
We will amend Compulsory Purchase powers to allow local authorities to assemble land banks on which affordable housing can be provided. The same powers can be used by central government for the provision of schools, hospitals and other social purposes.

Ending Homelessness

We are committed to ending homelessness as defined by the Make Room campaign through a range of measures including greater provision of supported housing.

A quality rental market

We will update the standards regulations for private rental accommodation.
We will review the operation of the Residential Tenancies Act and the Residential Tenancies Board to ensure the most efficient possible resolution of disputes.

Linking homes, work and leisure

We will:

Consistent with our plans to recast local government in Ireland we will create city and regional authorities that will have a number of functions,including transport.They will include city authorities in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, and the Athlone-Tullamore-Mullingar triangle. Regional authorities will be established in other regions of the country. These authorities will be responsible for strategic planning and for overseeing the delivery of region-wide services, which will include procuring, funding and operating joined-up public transport projects for their region, integrated timetabling and ticketing, development of new routes, linking land use planning to public transport and managing traffic flow. These authorities will be chaired and coordinated by directly elected full-time mayors.
Oversee the completion of major inter-urban routes by 2010.
Upgrade intercity rail connections to ensure that all major inter-city journeys are faster by rail than by car.
Extend commuter rail services to the suburbs of Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
The Athlone-Tullamore-Mullingar transport authority will be responsible for the opening of a rail link between Athlone and Mullingar.
Prioritise the construction of the Interconnector tunnel between Heuston and Connolly stations.
Begin to lay the foundations of a metro system as part Dublin's rail network. This will begin with the construction of Metro North between Swords, the airport and Dublin city centre within the lifetime of the government.
Deliver Luas services to Lucan, extend Luas lines to Citywest, Cherrywood and the Docklands and link the existing Red and Green Luas lines in the city centre.
Introduce long-overdue integrated ticketing for all public transport.
Increase the current Dublin Bus fleet by 50 per cent, or 500 buses.
Complete the existing QBCs so they have enough road space to move quickly and add extra QBCs on the main arteries in the Greater Dublin Area.
Extend the Dublin Bus network to major residential areas within a 25 mile radius of the city.
Introduce a €1 adult fare and 50 cent children's fare on the entire Dublin Bus network within this 25 mile radius. This approach can be replicated in other cities and regions by the new transport authorities.
Fast track 6 Park and Ride sites and service them with express bus services to the city centre.
Replace the Travel Pass Scheme with a new cheaper Freedom Card that could be used across all public transport.
Enable the government to manage traffic at the Westlink Toll Bridge by lifting the barriers at times of heavy congestion and varying the tolls at different times of day.
Appoint Cycling Officers in each Local Authority to promote cycling and encourage greater cycling numbers by providing safer cycling routes.
Fund all schools to provide cycle stands and, in conjunction with local authorities, develop safe cycle routes to schools.
Require all major employers to provide cycle stands and showering facilities in order to encourage their staff to cycle.
In Dublin, we will develop safe cross-city cycle routes, complete the Sutton to Sandycove cycle route and develop a new cycle route along both sides of the Liffey quays.
Pursue the possibility of holding an annual Cycling Marathon similar to Zurich and Cape Town.
Review the law which currently compels, in certain circumstances, a cyclist to use a bus lane where one is provided. The Fair Society - Labour Manifesto 2007

Planning for communities

Labour will reform the planning laws and the planning system.

What Labour will do:

We will link planning permission for residential developments to the provision of public transport, schools, healthcare, recreational areas, shops and facilities.
Encourage clustered rural and urban regeneration through pro-active planning.
End the use of private management companies and management charges in private housing estates, and regulate them in the case of apartments.
Refuse planning permission to developers who have failed to finish off housing developments in the past.
Abolish the €20 fee for making a submission to a local authority on a planning issue.

Airports and Freight

We will ensure modern passenger facilities at our airports and provide fast public transport access to all our airports.
We will commission a study to examine airport capacity in the Leinster area over the next 10 to 20 years.
In government we will encourage transport of freight by rail and gradually target an increase in annual freight rail volume.

Road safety