Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I must attend a conference later and I apologise if I have to leave soon. I welcome Mr. Coleman and Mr. Cussen. I favour and support the concept and actions they will take. It is extremely important that there is a dynamically led organisation to gather all the State's lands and drive the developments that are needed where they are needed.

Communities need a mix of housing. Notwithstanding that the Land Development Agency has been given a brief in the context of providing a certain proportion of social and affordable housing, we need to go much further than that. This is probably a debate for the legislation rather than this meeting, but we must identify the acute needs that are there now, namely, homelessness and affordable and social housing. I am unclear as to whether the agency has a brief on co-operative housing, which would also be extremely important.

The key to it all of this is proper planning. In the city of Dublin, young people are being driven from the capital because they cannot afford the rents. Even people with good jobs cannot live in the city. What is the future for a young family with two or three children? Where is the affordable housing for them? How will our cities change? Will Dublin be a city where only those who are extremely well paid live? Will it be somewhere without a dynamic social mix, in other words communities of all ages, types and mixes living together? The agency's planning is crucial. It is not just about assembling the site. Rather, it must also examine the location of sites, what the needs are, what the demographic pressures are and how many families with young children, older people and homeless persons live in the area in order that there can be an integrated, balanced, properly dynamic focus in this agency. This is a great opportunity for us to get it right, but we can also get it very wrong.

I welcome the funding Mr. Cussen spoke about. It is vital that the LDA will have sufficient money to go ahead with projects. I am very concerned about that. The interaction of the agency with the likes of Peter McVerry Trust, Threshold and so on is extremely important, as is networking by these bodies with the local authorities to get the outcome we all want. Those are my concerns.

We must ensure our urban areas, in particular Dublin, develop into properly integrated, dynamic, modern cities in which the needs of residents are met. That is my concern. If we give 60% of these landbanks to developers to develop as they wish and keep the remaining 40%, developers should not decide what type of housing goes into a site. Obviously, we need developers and we need to work with them. I favour working with the private sector, but we must get this right. These are State funds and money given by the taxpayer to the local authorities or State body initially. We must ensure, therefore, that the outcomes are right for the people who need the housing. I am very anxious about that. I welcome the establishment of the agency, as I said, and I am not being in any way critical.

One of the key issues will be the transparency of the agency's decision-making, its interaction and the funding that will be provided for sites. The last thing we want is a scandal about State lands worth millions being sold for thousands to fellas to make a quick buck. This is the worry people have. One of the issues with the agency is that I understand it has been set up as a commercial State agency, which means it is not accountable in the expenditure of its funds to the Oireachtas and will not be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. It is vital that we get that right as well. I do not doubt the integrity of everyone concerned, but there must be accountability, transparency and value for money, and I will insist on this with my vote. The problem is that deals done on a commercial basis are not subject to freedom of information requests. I understand that applies right across the board with commercial issues. There must be accountability. How one defines that accountability is a matter for the legislation. Would we be satisfied with an independent audit if the funding spent were to exceed, say, €1 million? How can accountability be worked into this process to give people confidence in everything the agency does? I fully support the private sector and we need it, but we need to manage it.

I was involved in the creation of a wonderful body called Irish Water. One of the first things Irish Water did was to disappear off the radar. I must remind myself that I lived through this awful period and survived to sit in this Oireachtas as an elected representative. I stood up for what I believed in and what was true. Mr. Cussen will be aware of this because he works in the Department and knows what I think. I want to ensure this agency does not fall into the same trap as Irish Water. That trap is the use of consultants. Once the agency is set up, it disappears, there is no accountability and it comes before the Oireachtas once a year. Perhaps it is dragged in by Sinn Féin, the Workers' Party, People Before Profit or me.

Housing and homelessness is the biggest scandal facing society. Now is the right time to settle up. I feel very strongly about this. I want to accountability and freedom of information to apply to this agency. I would also like to see quarterly statutory reporting to the Oireachtas through the committee system. We will keep an eye on what the agency is doing. I believe it wants to do what we want it to do, namely, build the right type of housing in the correct mix. Dublin is a huge pressure zone at present. In 20 years' time we want to see families living in affordable housing in all areas. There is no area in which there should not be social, affordable and co-operative housing. We cannot allow the city to develop in such a way that those who have money own everything and those who want to work, live, and rear their families must live outside the city and have long commutes and a very poor quality of life. I thank the Chairman for indulging me.