Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 2 October 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

General Scheme of the Land Development Agency Bill 2019: Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and Land Development Agency

Photo of Catherine MartinCatherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late to the meeting and if I repeat any question already asked. I share colleagues' concerns about the huge percentage of homes that will go to private provision. If we are talking about using public land for housing, it does not stack up if we are taking 100% of it and giving 60% away to private ownership. I am concerned about that type of developer-led housing.

These legislative proposals give the Land Development Agency considerable power by way of its mandate to undertake national large-scale procurement of housing. In his opening statement Mr. Coleman referred to building a new organisation. What categories of expertise have been retained directly for this purpose? Mr. Coleman might not be able to provide the information today, but I would like to know the numbers of architects, quantity surveyors, project managers and procurement professionals who will be directly employed by the LDA to carry out this enormous undertaking of acquiring, developing and maintaining the lands over time.

I presume the LDA will develop a policy to govern the specifics of how the cost rental model will work and how management systems for those developments will operate. Will that policy be available for review by the Oireachtas before the Bill completes its passage through the Houses? It is important that we see it before the legislation is enacted.

The LDA is beginning its work during a declared national climate emergency. What steps will it take to ensure its developments promote and employ the most innovative and low carbon construction methods and have the lowest carbon footprint and life-cycle running costs possible? This is particularly important, given the tenants' exposure to maintenance costs over time. Does the agency have a climate action policy that will inform its work?

Does the Bill, as proposed, allow the Minister to sell his or her shareholding in the agency? That is an obvious concern, given the large amounts of public land the LDA is seeking to assemble. If there is such a provision, why is it necessary to include that power in the Bill?

People in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown have concerns about the redevelopment of the Central Mental Hospital site in Dundrum. What level of public consultation is planned on that development and when will it take place? The complete dominance of build-to-rent housing in the area is locking people out of affordability to purchase homes in the places in which they were born and raised.

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