Government arranged meeting with housing lobbyists backing garden sheds within hours

Lobbyists agitating for de facto garden sheds without planning permission as a supposed solution to the housing crisis were offered a meeting with senior government advisers less than 24 hours after sending an introductory email to Micheál Martin's office.  

Earlier this year government announced it intends to introduce planning exemptions for detached modular homes at the rear of properties. With the move, according to Labour’s Connor Sheehan, “Government is evicting people from the box room to move them into the garden shed.”

Progress Ireland, a lobbying group backed by the Collison brothers, contacted Diarmuid Lynch, special adviser to Micheál Martin, last 23 September at 6.36pm, introducing themselves and requesting a meeting. 

At 11.32am the next day Lynch arranged a meeting between himself, Martin’s economic adviser Alan Ahearne, Progress Ireland director Seán Keyes and the group's housing policy director Seán O'Neill McPartlin.

An agenda reviewed by The Ditch shows they would discuss Progress Ireland’s housing and infrastructure proposals – including their plan for exempting small, detached dwellings in gardens from normal planning procedures. It also included time to "solicit the feedback of Diarmuid and Alan”. 

No minutes of the meeting were kept, according to records released to The Ditch. 

‘Rightsizing’

In his introductory email Progress Ireland housing policy director Seán O'Neill McPartlin requested a meeting to discuss their housing policies.

"I am one of the co-founders of Progress Ireland, a think tank focussed on ideas to unlock Ireland's potential," McPartlin wrote. "Our aim is to connect Ireland to the best of international policymaking in three areas: housing, infrastructure, and innovation."

McPartlin said Progress Ireland had recently released housing policies, one of which he wrote about in the Irish Times. "I would love to have an introductory meeting to discuss our approach to housing. Your feedback would be very much appreciated," he said

Lynch's response came the following morning: "Would you be free to meet my colleague Alan and I tomorrow at 3pm in Govt Blds." 

In Progress Ireland's policy document titled "One pager: Ireland could build 350,000 small homes in gardens," it describes their proposed "seomraí" as structures that would facilitate what they call a "national rightsizing strategy."

The Programme for Government, published in January, includes a commitment to "examine the requirement for exempted development to the rear of a dwelling to be physically attached to the main dwelling house" under its "Practical Housing Options for Positive Ageing" section.

A report this week in the Irish Independent said government minister for older people Kieran O'Donnell has established a group in the Department of Housing to look at deregulating planning rules for "granny flats". 

"Planning rules for so-called granny flats are to be relaxed as part of the government's new drive to encourage older people to move to smaller properties in a bid to ease the housing crisis and make the most of existing housing stock," the newspaper reported. 

A Progress Ireland spokesperson said, “What Progress Ireland offers is practical, evidence-backed policy research to help solve Ireland’s biggest problems.”

The Office of the Tánaiste has been contacted for comment.