COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, June 08, 2020
HEADED ITEM NO. 4 (d) (i)
Report of Meeting of the Housing Strategic Policy Committee held at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, 14th May 2020
Present:
Cllr. C. O’Connor; Cllr. L. Kinsella-Colman; Cllr. K. Mahon; Cllr. C. O’Byrne; Cllr. D. O’Donovan; S. Harty (PPN) and B. Tyrrell-Collard (ICTU).
Apologies:
Cllr. B. Pereppadan; Cllr. J. Tuffy; and J. Lawlor.
Officials in attendance:
C. Ward, Director of Services; M. Staunton, Senior Executive Officer; N. Hanly, Senior Executive Officer; E. Leech, Senior Executive Officer; M. Murtagh, Administrative Officer; J. Sweeney, Senior Staff Officer.
Also present:
B. Gaughran, Assistant Head of IT
The meeting was chaired by Cllr. C. O’Connor.
C. Ward briefly outlined the Meeting Etiquette as a preliminary to this first SPC meeting using Microsoft Teams.
At the commencement of the meeting Cllr. O’Connor, Chair welcomed Cllr. O’Byrne as the new member of the SPC. She fills the vacancy left by Cllr William Priestly who was recently appointed Chair of the Land Use and Transportation SPC.
H.1 Minutes of Housing SPC Meeting on 20th February 2020.
The minutes of the Housing Strategic Policy Committee Meeting of 20th February 2020 were agreed.
H.2 Matters Arising
S. Harty requested that housing related disability issues queried be added to the Committee’s work plan as outlined at the meeting of 20th February. C. Ward reaffirmed the dynamic aspect of the programme and the expectation that it would change over the lifetime of the committee to reflect both the changing environment and changing local priorities and it was agreed that a report in relation to the Housing Disability Steering Group would be brought to the next meeting of the Committee.
H.3 Covid-19 Housing Responses
C. Ward provided an overview of some of the key housing areas and how these services have been maintained or adjusted during the lockdown and related restrictions and highlighted the resilience of the Council as an organisation, our staff across all departments including the work of the IT Department in ensuring the continued delivery of services.
Following contributions from Cllrs. Mahon, O’Byrne and Kinsella-Colman, the report was noted.
H.4 – Allocations Update
N. Hanly provided an update and analysis on housing allocations with details of Choice-Based Letting, HAP and Homeless figures as well as highlighting possible policy considerations for the Committee.
Questions and contributions by Cllrs. O’Donovan, Mahon and Kinsella Coleman were responded to by N. Hanly and C. Ward and the report was noted.
H.5 Housing Supply Update
C. Ward advised members that the Clonburris Housing Proposal Phase 1, which was endorsed at the May Council meeting, will be circulated to Committee members and any feedback received will inform the ongoing discussion with the design team. Cllr. Mahon highlighted the need to ensure that the full SPC was consulted on significant proposed developments and C. Ward agreed to ensure this occurred on such projects.
M. Staunton provided an update on the delivery of housing projects, outlining the current status and next phases of development while also signalling the potential impacts of Covid-19 restrictions on the projected delivery timeframes. She also advised that an assessment is underway of all sites to examine the extent and impact of delays and an update on this will be provided at the next SPC meeting. Following a contribution by Cllr. Mahon, the report was then noted by the Committee.
H.6 Incremental Purchase Scheme – Cash Buyers
E. Leech outlined the current Incremental Tenant Purchase Scheme as considered by the Housing SPC on 10th February 2016 and adopted by the Council on 14th March 2016 including a provision whereby ‘cash buyers’ would be excluded from the scheme which has subsequently prevented some tenants with bona fide financial resources from purchasing homes. Following a contribution from Cllr. O’Donovan that was responded to by E. Leech, the Committee agreed to amend the Scheme to include assessment of source of funds in such cases with a view to permitting bona fide cash buyers where the Housing Department is satisfied as to the true source of their funds through appropriate documentary or other evidence as required.
H.7 Any Other Business
None.
The meeting concluded at 6.35 pm.