Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 17 October 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Appropriate Use of Public Land: Discussion

9:00 am

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their answers. While many of us are supportive of the Land Development Agency, LDA, as a strategic land management agency that moves around public land, the part of its function around residential housing development concerns us. That is partly because some of us take the side of councils, in that they would be better placed to be given the power and money to deliver residential housing, but also because of the model being used. I will ask a couple of technical questions to help me understand these matters, but I will first emphasise the concern that some of us have. If the LDA develops along the lines of its initial proposal, I fear that local authorities will be reduced primarily to developing infill and small social housing developments, working with approved housing bodies, AHBs, and then managing the growing stock. Given their direct experience of joint ventures, will Mr. Ward and his colleagues compare the timelines involved versus a comparably sized mixed income and mixed tenure project that is local authority-led? The processes are different. Is one faster, more complex or more cumbersome than the other?

We discussed with the LDA whether the exact breakdown of the tenure mix in a joint venture was determined by the financing requirements of the overall package rather than by an area's social and affordable housing needs. Do the witnesses have a view on that matter? Delivering affordable housing within the joint venture context is complex, given the many types of funding involved. There could be a sites fund, a Rebuilding Ireland home loan and so on. Does that not make it inherently more complex than local authorities building houses in the traditional way in their own developments and then renting and selling them at affordable rates to people on various income thresholds?

One of the changes to the serviced sites loan relates to the equity stake. If I understand it correctly, there is a €40,000 or €50,000 subsidy, although 25% of that must be covered by the local authority. I am not sure whether the money is there to do that. Does adding the equity stake complicate the loan more than the Ó Cualann model, of which I am sure the witnesses are aware? Does the €40,000 or €50,000 meet the council's costs in terms of land and site servicing?

A matter discussed in the budget and relevant to this discussion is the changing of the financial threshold for the one-stage approval process to €7 million. My understanding is that the process adds a significant level of liability to local authorities, which is one of the reasons they are not keen on it. Perhaps the witnesses will talk us through the matter. Even without those liabilities, the €7 million threshold would only allow for small projects. Would it be of much use?

Regarding compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, I appreciate that the witnesses may feel it is not possible to answer my next question. Local authorities have CPO powers. The problem is that, unless the Department gives them the funding and political backing to use CPOs for a Dublin Bus garage or a part of the Cork docklands, for example, they cannot use them. What would stop Cork City Council from going out tomorrow and using CPOs in respect of some of the large sites that were identified in its report?

A number of witnesses mentioned working with the LDA. I understand the part where it acquires land and develops it with a council afterwards, but the witnesses might address a specific concern of mine. If it is the council that has the land, how will that situation work when the LDA approaches it? The council would be involved in the master plan, but would the land then be handed over to the LDA for a joint venture with a private developer? We are still in the early stages, but do the witnesses have thoughts on this?

The Cork cost rental information was interesting. What is its financing model? Where is the council in terms of establishing rent setting, for example, a single rent or several bands of rent? Dublin City Council is exploring these matters, so any information that Cork City Council has on it would be interesting.

I accept that re-lets form part of the work but, given the nature of the stock, they are a small number and the net churn will not be significant overall.

Regarding the Central Mental Hospital, 600 social and affordable units would be fantastic. However, the site will hold 1,500 units. Am I wrong about that? Would it not be much better to have a number of great mixed income and mixed tenure units for sale and rental at affordable rates? A total of 1,500 units rather than 600 would be a better outcome in terms of meeting social and affordable housing need.

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