Mr. Patrick King:

I am director of policy and corporate services at the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, SCSI, and Ms Áine Myler is a chartered valuation surveyor. Our professional membership is involved in the full life cycle of the built environment, from site planning and development to construction, sale and occupation management. Our members, comprising nearly 5,000 professionals throughout the country, are employed in private, public, not-for-profit and academic institutions.

The society has long supported the creation of a body with a remit to unlock the potential of State-owned lands to address Ireland's current and long-term housing and infrastructural needs. Developing a body to utilise State assets effectively and efficiently in a way that fosters long-term strategic benefits for society warrants universal support. It is evident that Ireland faces significant global and domestic short and long-term challenges, from global warming to the housing crisis, in delivering on the goals of Project Ireland. Therefore, a single body tasked with implementing and contributing to the strategic vision would represent a positive step. The society believes that the objectives outlined in Part 2, under head 8, need to be better aligned with the strategic objectives for the body, similar to the general objectives of the Dublin Transport Authority, which has become the National Transport Authority.

One of the core responsibilities and objectives of the LDA is to unlock key public assets, and indeed private assets, to serve society. Housing and homelessness comprise one of the most significant issues that I hope will be addressed with the help of the LDA. This should be recognised under head 8. We feel that the land cost component has yet to be grasped in public policy in the overall housing delivery program. Now that we are in a property price stabilisation environment, particularly in Dublin, the land cost component still represents 30% to 50% of the overall delivery cost of new housing. We feel this is too high.

The availability and affordability of serviced land is a significant contributor to the overall affordability of apartments in urban centres. There is high competition for well-located, zoned and serviced land. Given the high demand for this type of asset, many developers will take a long-term approach in terms of capital appreciation and therefore may be prepared to pay high prices for land. The cost breakdowns in our reports show the site purchase cost per apartment unit ranged from €33,000, for a suburban low-density development, to €125,000, for a high-density urban development.

Our study found that one site, the first, is affordable for the average income while the other one is not. This is a significant range with a huge impact on viability and affordability, which should be reflected in the objects of the Bill.

The relationship and collaboration between key partners and the LDA are essential to prevent mistakes in poor planning, short-term gains and costly errors regarding the provision of services. The National Economic and Social Council, NESC, in its report, stated that, "Effective active land management involves public authorities working with a range of private and non-for-profit development and housing organisations." A key component of this relationship will be planning. The society sees the usefulness of strategic development zones not only to provide planning clarity but also shared vision and speed of implementation for the LDA, local authorities and their private partners. It will be useful for the LDA to engage in these policies and this should be reflected in the Bill.

Looking longer term, the acquiring of private land in conjunction with these partners will be an important role for the LDA. The society has contributed to the Law Reform Commission's review of this aspect of land law and believes that action on those findings will be a prerequisite to the achievement of the objectives of the Land Development Agency as well as Project Ireland 2040.

The society welcomes the conclusion, under head 9(2)(h), which will allow the LDA to provide a more fundamental area of support to public bodies. There is a clear need to develop public sector expertise in the area of property and construction. Building this capacity within the public sector is much needed to ensure the public as a client has the best advice that it can get when negotiating with private partners.

The society has been encouraged by progress on its long-standing recommendation for mapping of all State-owned land. The LDA's work with Ordnance Survey Ireland, OSI, Departments and agencies has demonstrated the importance of removing silos and adopting a holistic approach to State-owned lands and their potential uses. Any strategic review requires a complete survey of assets. From this point, it is then possible to plan and measure the impact of their use to maximise the efficiency and productivity of State-owned land. Therefore, we welcome head 9(3)(a) to "establish and maintain a register of relevant public lands" to implement the national planning framework. The society suggests that, in the interests of transparency and good governance, this is maintained as a public register.

It is often said that we tend to overestimate the impact of change in the short term but underestimate the effect in the long term. The society welcomes the creation of the Land Development Agency and believes that, with an ambitious remit under head 8 and a robust approach to governance as part of head 9, as well as the supporting policies being put in place by the Legislature, it can achieve long-term strategy benefit for society.