The text of the motion – which councillors were discussing whether to send to the housing committee or not – was:
"Dublin City Council (DCC) recognises the urgency of the housing crisis, with just under 20,000 households now on the City Council’s waiting list, and an estimated c650 newly-formed households (net) becoming eligible for social housing each year.
The City Council furthermore recognises that land is by definition in fixed supply. The Development Plan estimates approximately 440 hectares of land are zoned and available for residential development within the DCC boundaries.
The City Council notes the following in relation to land availability in this area:
DCC estimates (Council Questions, October 2017) that it owns approximately 120 hectares of land. Assuming a density of 100 units per hectare (DCC generally uses a range from 60-120 units / hectare), DCC-owned land could provide 12,000 units if used exclusively for public housing.
This leaves around 320 hectares of land zoned for residential development not owned by DCC. At a density of 100 units per hectare this would yield 32,000 units, delivering around 3,200 units of public housing through Part V requirements.
Accordingly, if all DCC-owned land were used exclusively for public housing, and all non-DCC-owned land were developed and delivered 10% of units as Part V, the public housing output would still approximately 15,200 units.
Given this shortfall, the city council adopts the following policy in relation to the land within its boundaries:
– That Dublin City Council institutes an immediate ban on the use of council-owned land for private, for-profit, housing development, whether this is for rent or purchase.
– That Dublin City Council enters into immediate negotiations with all state bodies, semi-state bodies, and NAMA appointed receivers, who own or control residential land in the Dublin City Council area, in order to increase the required Part V social housing delivery on those sites, with an initial aim of securing the full use of the land for mixed income public housing.
– That Dublin City Council commits itself to ensuring a mix of incomes on all sites, but that this should be done through the use of innovative not-for-profit housing methods such as public cost rental."