The housing minister scrapped an obligation for city centre apartments to have their own parking spaces GETTY IMAGESThe Irish government has been urged to incentivise the construction of apartment blocks along public transport lines and avoid “quick-fix” solutions to housing shortages. On Monday, Eoghan Murphy, the housing minister, published new guidelines to encourage apartment building, including scrapping an obligation to provide parking spaces in city centres. Deirdre Fallon, the president of the Irish Planning Institute, urged the minister to ensure that standards did not fall. “The planning sector has already made a significant contribution to reducing the costs of housing through previously amended guidelines in 2015, targeted development contributions rebate schemes and reduced social housing contribution,” she said. “Additional measures need to be introduced by government to address other costs and to incentivise the development of new apartments along public transport corridors.”

Source: The Times December 20, 2017 00:05 UTC