John Lahart
Question:20. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage how the Land Development Agency is providing new homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33186/23]
View answerThursday, 6 July 2023
Questions (20, 72)
Steven Matthews
Question:72. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding Project Tosaigh; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33118/23]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 72 together.
Under Housing for All, the Government aims to deliver 54,000 affordable homes between now and 2030, to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, the Land Development Agency and through the First Home Scheme.
The LDA is tasked with delivering social and affordable homes in a number of ways. Firstly, it manages the State’s own lands by developing and assembling land banks for housing delivery from a mix of public and private sites and regenerating under-utilised sites, providing longer-term stability and a steady stream of social and affordable housing in the medium to longer term.
Of the first lands identified for transfer to the LDA, planning has been granted on such key sites as the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, 852 units, Castlelands in Balbriggan, 817 units, Hackettstown in Skerries, 345 units and Devoy Barracks in Kildare, 219 units. In addition, construction work has commenced on the site of the former St Kevin’s Hospital in Cork City where 265 homes will be delivered.
The LDA is also delivering housing through its working partnerships with local authorities. Those partnerships include working with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council at Shanganagh Castle to deliver 597 homes, which is under construction. It is also working with Dublin City Council to deliver over 540 homes at the Donore Project in Dublin 8 which just received planning permission, as well as working on delivering over 140 affordable homes at Cromcastle, Dublin 5 and an expected 1,200 homes in Cherry Orchard.
Under its market engagement initiative, Project Tosaigh, the LDA works with developers to unlock stalled private, planning-consented developments, targeting 5,000 homes by 2026. Following two calls for Expressions of Interest in 2021 and 2022, the second of which was focused on Dublin and Cork, the LDA has secured or is in negotiations for a significant pipeline of delivery using advance purchase arrangements.
Already, affordable housing delivery sourced from Project Tosaigh has seen the LDA deliver cost rental houses and apartments in Delgany, Co. Wicklow with rents in a range from €1220 to €1550 per month and cost rental homes at Parklands, Citywest with rents of €1350 to €1450 per month.
Affordable purchase homes hasv also been delivered in Mallow, Co. Cork and in Waterford, in partnership with the local authorities.
I welcome the recent advancing of Project Tosaigh Phase 2 last week which will see the LDA procuring framework agreements with preferred delivery partners. Such procured agreements, in addition to enabling more programmed delivery on a multi-annual basis, will provide options for a range of approaches to be contemplated under the framework.