Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 April 2024
142. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which efforts are being made to control house price inflation, including the possibility of having the local authorities engage builders to build public housing on State-owned lands to facilitate local authority and affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15905/24]
View answerThe Land Development Agency was established in 2018 and placed on a legislative footing by the Land Development Agency Act 2021. It’s primary role is to deliver affordable housing on public land that may be underutilised.
Significant progress is being made regarding the delivery of housing on the States own lands with, for example, works underway at the former HSE owned St Kevin’s Hospital site in Cork City and the Devoy Barracks site in Naas Co. Kildare.
Planning permission has also been secured to develop social and affordable homes on a number of other State owned sites, with work also underway between the Land Development Agency and local authorities to deliver housing on State owned lands.
On foot of the Report on Relevant Public Lands 2023, which identified an additional potential pipeline of sites for future housing delivery, work is underway to transfer nine more State owned sites to the Land Development Agency for the development of affordable and social housing. These sites are spread across locations in Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, Cork and Galway, and collectively have the potential to deliver over 3,000 homes.
