Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 July 2017
1678. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the publicly owned land zoned for housing, broken down by local authority; if these lands are serviced, partially serviced or unserviced; the number of homes that could be built on this land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36349/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe active management of the public housing land bank is part of a range of actions taken under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, designed to accelerate and increase housing output. This is complementary to actions already undertaken to streamline the planning process, reform development contributions, and invest some €226 million in infrastructure, through the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF), to facilitate housing delivery.
On 27 April 2017, details of some 1,700 hectares of land in local authority and Housing Agency ownership were published on the Rebuilding Ireland Housing Land Map, with the potential to deliver some 42,500 homes nationally. The map also includes details of some 300 hectares of land in ownership of other State or semi-State bodies, with the potential to deliver 7,500 homes. Details in relation to these sites can be viewed at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/rebuilding-ireland-land-map/.
In order to ensure a consistent and comprehensive approach nationally, I have asked local authorities to prepare Strategic Development and Management Plans for housing lands in their ownership by 30 September 2017, with particular emphasis on prioritising those sites with the most potential to deliver housing at scale, in the short to medium term, including mixed-tenure projects, where appropriate.
For its part, the Housing Agency is in the process of finalising a Strategic Development and Management Plan for the Land Aggregation Scheme sites, which will be published in due course. With regard to the sites identified that are owned by other State or semi-State bodies, my Department is working directly with the bodies concerned to drive the development of these sites at the earliest possible opportunity.
