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MINISTER FOR HOUSING Eoghan Murphy has said there are “no plans” to review co-living settings in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Minister for Housing has been asked a string of parliamentary questions around housing policy in light of the current crisis, and in respect of co-living added that such forms of accommodation “play an important role in catering for the diverse needs of the overall population”.
Provisions that would allow for co-living were brought in by the Housing Minister in 2018 when he published a document on Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments Guidelines for Planning Authorities.
Within this document were guidelines on co-living – or shared living – and how it could emerge as a “distinct segment within the overall urban accommodation sector”.
Such developments should have a minimum 12 metres squared space for single rooms and a 18 metres squared space for double rooms, according to the Housing Department’s guidance.
Since this guidance was published, a number of planning applications have been made to try secure permission for co-living developments in Dublin.
At the time, local Fianna Fáil councillor – and now TD – Cormac Devlin told TheJournal.ie that he “wouldn’t even call them bedsits they’re so small”. Green Party MEP Ciaran Cuffe called them “Dickensian in nature”.
More recent applications have seen proposals for over 100 co-living units in a new development atop Jervis Street Shopping Centre and a smaller-scale co-living development near St James’s Hospital.
Murphy also told Newstalk Breakfast that co-living was “more like a very trendy, kind of, boutique hotel-type place” after it was put to him the conditions were more akin to a prison.
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Speaking to TheJournal.ie on the Jervis development, Sinn Féin’s Ó Broin said that “co-living is bad for the people forced to live in it”.
“If people were given the choice, they wouldn’t,” he said “And, at times when people are facing isolation and have to socially distance, none of that can be achieved in co-living. It serves no one.”
On foot of concerns around how such developments could work in the context of the pandemic, Social Democrat TD Cian O’Callaghan if the policy on co-living would be reviewed by the Department of Housing.
In the answer provided, the minister sought to emphasise how few co-living developments had been approved so far.
“To end Q1 2020, 294 co-living bedspaces have been approved, by An Bord Pleanála under the strategic housing development application process, for development since the guidelines came in to force in 2018,” he said. “In comparison, there were more than 60,000 homes permitted, none of which were co-living bedspaces, since the guidelines were published to the end of 2019 alone.
Although such accommodation formats are not as prevalent as individual houses or apartments, they nonetheless play an important role in catering for the diverse needs of the overall population.
Murphy added that while there are “currently no plans” to review any of these formats in light of the pandemic, his department would continue to monitor public health advice and guidance as the crisis continues.
While there are no plans for co-living guidance to change, Murphy did confirm that introducing tougher regulations for short-term lets like Airbnb would be something that the next government would be looking at.
As the tourism industry ground to a halt at the start of the pandemic, the number of properties available to let on online platforms rose.
Last year, the government brought in new regulations on short-term letting that aimed to create strict limits on people renting out a part or all of their home for a period of time, usually to tourists who visit the country. This activity would be monitored by local authorities under the regulations.
Earlier this month, Green Party councillor Michael Pidgeon said the short-term letting regulations and the onus of Local Authorities to enforce them was done “arseways”.
“Local authorities are doing their best, but the national short-term let regulations are arseways,” he said.
In his response to the parliamentary question, Minister Murphy said that the extent of properties put on the market during the Covid-19 emergency “has highlighted the need for a more sustainable regulatory regime for this form of accommodation, which meets the needs of both the tourism and housing sectors”.
“It will be a matter for the incoming government, and particularly the incoming Minister with responsibility for the tourism sector, to decide on any further actions it may wish to take in relation to the possible regulation of online platforms,” he said.
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Interesting. Not sure I’m keen on more additives in my food all the same, thanks. Would rather take a supplement during pregnancy.
People are often trying to cut out or cut back on bread. So many gluten allergies too.
@Ann Experiment: was just going to say…..I don’t eat bread at all. Dunno how that would benefit me. I just hope if I ever fall pregnant I show symptoms of such and then I would know and make the choice to add folic acid to my diet myself.
@Ann Experiment: the neural tube forms and closes by the 28th day after conception (note conception not implantation in case there’s any confusion) and many women have barely realised they are pregnant at that point. Unless you’re trying to achieve a pregnancy, in which case you’re probably already taking folic acid.
@Ann Experiment: Reading these comments is so disheartening.
Everyone entitled to opinion but medical fact is not a mater of taste.
Folic Acid is Vitamin B, not an additive; Ireland has among highest rate of Neural Tube Defects (baby born with spinal cord outside the body) in Europe and taking during pregnancy is too late to prevent this , has to be taken before.
Obviously senator Noone has been briefed on this by scientists and adding Vitamin B to flour, as done in other countries has been shown to reduce this devastating birth defect.
Please do some reading before broadcasting an unhelpful comment.
@Ciaran M: Facebook told me… no seriously that are recent studies linking increased folic acid and breast cancer. Take folic acid if you are engaging in unprotected sex but I’m very much against being force fed vitamins for no reason.
@Brinster: its lead to an awfull lot more than that… most countries in Europe banned the practice on health grounds. The fluoride benifits on teeth is through topical use not ingestion.
@dB O’Neill: most countries have not banned. That’s an outright lie. Multiple countries utilise multiple ways of getting the max fluoride benefit. Some have a naturally occuring optimum level like denmark, some add it to flour and salt, some five yearly dental rinses and some put it in bottled water – the best method is considered adjusting the water supply like we do here.
@Fran Lonergan: multiple ethical bodies have looked at this question and found it to be ethical and not mass medicaton. Fluoride is not a medicine, it is a naturally occurring mineral that is adjusted up or down to give optimum dental effect. There is a town in limerick where they dont have to do anything cause it is naturally at that level
Or…. People could just start eating their greens and beans! They reaffy need to put more of an effort into educating people on nutrition. It should be a stand alone secondary school class. Might save a bit on the health bill down the road.
@Malachi: They’re trying to make us placid and compliant, fluoride in the water, brain waves 8from the TV, jets spraying us with chemtrails, and now this.
I covered this subject in my dissertation on seaweed in 2015, 81 countries globally all ready madate flour fortification to prevent neural tube defects in its citzens. To date, over 38K children have been born annually without defects or 105 healthier babies daily thanks to this initiative. This report was issued in 2008. Government please wake up and do it!
Shouldn’t be wrong white bread or brown bread anyway. Maybe educate people on correct macro and micro nutrition and simply stay away (as best as possible) from any processed foods. Shimples!!!
The irony of it all. Adding a vitamin to an unhealthy food source does not make it healthy. Its like fitting a new set of alloy wheels to a crashed car.
@Gearóid Ó Brádaigh: People don’t realise that vitamins and minerals need each other to be absorbed used and stored in the body.
There is no use doing this if the same women drink alcohol flushing water soluble vitamins out of their bodies… https://www.livestrong.com/article/408171-signs-symptoms-of-having-too-much-folic-acid-in-your-body/
What about people who eat too much bread or children who eat too much bread???
But what about the women who are celiac? To add anything to food it would want to be helping a lot more people than this would help. Serious issue of not understanding scale
Not understanding scale? Coeliac incidence is 1%. So if they introduce this measure they will cover 99% of the female population who eat bread. Yeah, no idea of scale whatsoever. LOL
@Kal Ipers: People with coeliac disease can have problems absorbing folic acid so I’d imagine – like diabetics who need to make changes in their diet/regime before conceiving – they’d be advised to speak to their doctors before trying to conceive.
Nowadays men can have babies apparently. You just have to identify yourself as what you like and use what biology you have to do what you want. If you don’t agree you’re a fascist bigot and will be incarcerated and re-educated in this new scary world.
It doesn’t fully prevent neural tubal defects either. I was taking my folic acid for years and lost a baby to a neural tubal defect. I felt so patronised by the doctor asking me why I wasn’t taking my folic acid when I had been for years and as I was trying for a baby too, was more aware to take it every single day. It certainly helps but doesn’t totally prevent anything and we need to remember that.
When a friend of mine was pregnant in Germany she tried several places for folic acid – nobody had a clue what she was on about. Leave our foods alone. Its hard enough to get natural foods without additives.
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