16. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if new EE-zoned land will be identified in tandem with industrial land rezonings for housing to enable relocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35806/25]

Sentiment score: 0.01

Will the Department issue guidance on the need for enterprise and employment zoned land to be identified in tandem with the industrial land rezonings that are being rezoned to enable further provision of housing and if that will then be used to enable relocation?

Sentiment score: 0.00

I thank the Minister of State for that reply. The context for this question is in the fact the Dublin local authorities are advancing development frameworks that involve the rezoning of existing industrial land to residential or mixed use to meet housing supply targets. As the Minister of State said in his reply, that is a function of the local authority but done under the auspices of the national and regional strategies. The most recent example is the Ballyboggan masterplan, where Dublin City Council will rezone approximately 77 ha of industrial land between Cabra and Glasnevin to deliver an extra 6,000. Similarly, in south Dublin county, Cookstown and Ballymount are part of the city edge project. While this rezoning is welcome and makes sense from an urban development point of view, I have also raised in the House a number of times the need for space for indigenous SMEs to scale up. They are coming to me and other representatives around the country saying there is a shortage of industrial land and enterprise and employment zoned land. While I respect the right of planning authorities to set the development plans, we also know they are done within the context of national strategies and guidance issued from the Department. Will it specifically call out the need to ensure there is sufficient industrial land as well as the more than necessary zoning of housing land?

Sentiment score: 0.23

One of the reasons I am raising this is the shortage of land. If we want to promote compact growth, or initiatives like 15-minute cities, it is important with large-scale housing developments we have adequate amounts of industrial and commercial land there as well. While I fully take the point that planning authorities do set their own development plans, we are also familiar with instances where either the Office of the Planning Regulator or a ministerial order has been put in place to vary or alter a development plan, as happened in my own county. I encourage the Minister to consider issuing guidance to local authorities in terms of thinking of the amount and quantum of EE land available in their counties to support employment in the large housing developments that are going to happen, to encourage compact growth and to be complementary to the transport-led planning, which we require as well. In the context of a vacancy that has been identified by Ministers in this House, there is not sufficient space for companies and SMEs in particular that want to scale up. We need to support their growth as the backbone of our economy in these uncertain global times.

Sentiment score: 0.35