Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their attendance today and for their opening statements, which I have read. If we were to do this all over again, I would not start from here. In light of all the responses to the questions, I respectfully suggest that the cart has been placed before the horse. At this late stage, we should be discussing draft legislation rather than the heads of Bill, given that the LDA was announced over 12 months ago. Does the Department or the Minister have a timeframe in mind for passing this legislation? What happens to the LDA if this legislation is not passed before this Dáil and Seanad are dissolved? With political cycles, that is a distinct possibility. We have two more sessions of pre-legislative scrutiny on the heads of the Bill and my party and I are not happy with significant parts of this legislation. It is not for the Department to answer for this as I fully respect the job the officials have to do. My issue is with the structure of the LDA, land disposal and various other matters on which we did not agree when I asked representatives of the Housing Agency about them at a committee meeting some weeks ago.

Mr. Coleman stated that while the LDA had control or oversight of the land, it will not have the land until the legislation is passed and it can be transferred to the agency. We will not allow this legislation to be rushed because the LDA is a significant body. I support in principle the idea of an agency to deliver homes or develop land but I wonder what will happen to the LDA if the legislation is not passed. What will happen to the eight sites the agency oversees if there is no legislation in place to underpin it?

I was a little surprised when Mr. Coleman indicated that little or no work had been done on these eight sites. That is not my understanding of the position. I know a full master plan has been done for Castlelands in Balbriggan. Mr. Coleman did not refer to that site but it is potentially one of the LDA's sites. A significant amount of work has been done on the site by the local authority. I need to be comfortable that, in general, we are not facilitating a wholesale transfer of responsibility from the State and the local authorities to a commercial semi-State entity to deliver public housing. From reading the heads of the Bill, it appears that this vehicle would permit that. Deputy Casey referred to a disagreement that the Fianna Fáil Party has been having with regard to an agreement made last year to raise the discretionary cap to €6 million and allow local authorities more freedom to deliver social housing developments. On the one hand, the Minister described this as a reckless move while, on the other, he is seeking to set up an agency with a budget of €1.25 billion which will not be subject to freedom of information legislation.

I congratulate Mr. Coleman on his appointment, which was only formally made yesterday. Sources from the Land Development Agency were reported in the media over the summer as saying the agency would not be subject to the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. Why is that? Who has that opinion? I respectfully suggest that it is the Houses of the Oireachtas - the Dáil, the Seanad and this committee - that decide what is in the legislation. It is not for officials in the Department or employees of the Land Development Agency to decide what is permissible and what their roles are. All we have are the heads of the Bill. I return to my earlier point regarding the announcement made last September to establish the Land Development Agency, on foot of which a skeletal structure was set up.

Why has it taken so long to get to the stage of producing the heads of the Bill? When will we see the draft legislation?

Regarding the disposal of land, affordable purchase and the idea of chasing affordability based on market value, we do not agree that the LDA needs to dispose of land to deliver affordable housing. I have been struck by the constant references to affordable rent, cost rental and the Vienna model, which Mr. Coleman has mentioned more times than affordable purchase. A mix is required. Senator Kelleher mentioned security of tenure. My party holds the view that the best security of tenure is to own an affordable home. We do not believe that disposing of land to deliver affordability is necessary. Mr. Coleman seems to be saying that that is Government policy. If the Government changes, though, the LDA will have to deliver the new Government's policy, whoever is in it, should the LDA be formally established under legislation. Many of the issues involved flow from the fact that this should not have been announced until more work had been done on the legislation, powers, roles and areas of responsibility.

Oversight is my main concern. It was stated that the Committee of Public Accounts would have oversight. That is good. I was its Vice Chairman in a previous term and it is a good committee that provides good oversight. What about parliamentary questions and oversight by this committee, though? According to head 39, the Freedom of Information Act will not apply to the LDA where its commercial functions are concerned. That is a blanket cover and will remove wholesale the various functions listed in head 9(2). I could understand if a matter had to do with the price of purchasing land or tenders to specific developers or builders, but the Bill is effectively saying that people cannot find out about anything.

I would like an answer to the question about the Regulation of Lobbying Act. Perhaps the media has misreported it. I read a number of times over the summer that the LDA would not be subject to the lobbying Act.

I have other questions to ask. From speaking to local authorities across the country, agreeing criteria for a national affordable purchase scheme is crucial. Lacking a scheme will hinder the LDA's job and the costing of its sites. Will Mr. Coleman or Mr. O'Neill comment on this? It is an issue when trying to cost an arrangement, as I have seen at a number of the LDA sites. In Ballinastone in Donabate, the local authority is finding it difficult to know what to put the houses out to sale for because it does not have an affordable purchase scheme.

I will contribute again during the next round of questions.