Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 January 2005
1326 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will give details of the report prepared by a company (details supplied) for his Department on building land; the terms of reference of this report; if the report has been published; the action he now proposes to take in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1026/05]
View answerThe report in question was published on 15 December 2004 and is available in the Oireachtas Library. The consultant author was requested to provide an economic proofing of a possible scheme aimed at accelerating the supply of land for affordable housing development, based on the principle of "use it or lose it".
In broad terms, the proposed scheme would have opened on the following lines: a local authority would identify suitable plots of land for development following an examination of housing needs; the land would be designated for acquisition by the local authority and the owner would be given a specified period in which to secure planning permission; once the landowner secured planning permission, a further time limit would be set for the completion of the development; if the landowner failed to comply, the local authority could acquire the land by compulsory purchase; the price paid for such land would be at a specified percentage above agricultural value; and if a local authority acquired land in this manner, it would be required to develop it or procure its development within a specified timeframe.
The economic proofing of this proposal was carried out by reference to the position in three housing authorities, two urban and one rural. The analysis included a profile of development land available for housing in the areas concerned, the identification of any factors impeding its supply to the market, including the possible hoarding of land, and an evaluation of the market and other impacts of the proposal.
My Department is considering the findings of this report, as well as the ninth progress report of the All-party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution on the subject of property rights, and report No. 112 of the National Economic and Social Council —"Housing in Ireland: Performance and Policy".
