Council reveals full scale of property collapse

DUBLIN City Council has revealed the full scale of the
collapse of the property market and construction industry in the capital over
the last four years.

Planning applications for houses and apartments
plummeted by almost 90 per cent since 2007 when the number of applications
soared to almost 800 compared to the mere 100 applications submitted in 2011.

These applications sought permission for new build
residential accommodation.

The economic blow to retailers and the commercial
industry is also evident in the figures which saw 1,186 commercial applications
in 2007 drop to 584 in 2011 – a decrease of 51 per cent.

The figures, which go back through the number of
applications since 2005, indicate that planning applications peaked in 2007
with 4,351 applications in total.

In light of the dramatic decrease in planning
applications, Clontarf ward councillor Gerry Breen (FG) who requested the
figures, called on the council to react effectively to the situation it now
finds itself in.

“Given that the planning environment has changed so
dramatically, Dublin City Council has to adopt a different planning approach,

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he said.

“We must tackle the maintenance of stock – both
residential and commercial – so that our city doesn’t become run down with
derelict sites and buildings.

“This will involve placing demands on NAMA (who is a
significant owner of development sites), private developers and landlords to
keep the cityscape in good shape.

“All measures available to the council must be
deployed.

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Cllr Breen also called on the council to redeploy
staff in its planning department given that the revenue from development levies
and application administration is at a fraction of what it once was.