Mr. John Sheahan:

We thank the Chair and members for the invitation to address this committee on the proposed Land Development Agency Bill 2021. I am joined today by our chairperson, Councillor Micheál Anglim, and our Oireachtas liaison officer, Councillor Joe Malone.

The Local Authorities Members Association, LAMA, is an apolitical representative body with a membership of over 800 locally elected members of the 31 local authorities of local Government in Ireland. LAMA has deep concerns with certain aspects of the new Land Development Agency DAC proposed in this Bill. We see significant merit in having an agency set up to compile and manage an inventory of publicly owned lands within the State but we are not convinced the proposed powers to be vested in the agency are in the best interest of local government in Ireland.

The formation of a designated activity company to deal with the current housing crisis as a matter of urgency, as stated in the Bill, is the wrong footing to start with. Rushed legislation is bad legislation and is a quick fix solution to what is now a prolonged housing crisis. Whether we like it or not, there are no quick fixes or magic wand policies out there to solve this overnight.

The stated mission of Government for housing for all, is one every body agrees with, whatever one's ideology or principles. How we get there is where politicians, people and there ideologies differ. We, as an apolitical representative body, will not dwell on any preferred political ideology as how to achieve the stated mission statement, because no matter how one presents it, the housing crisis is supply versus demand.

We agree the most critical asset this State has is a publicly owned land bank made up of land in city centres, dockland areas and rail depots. Colbert Station in Limerick City which is being developed in conjunction with the LDA is a case in point. There is merit to the LDA DAC collating all the information and legal data on the State’s land bank and, in doing so, producing a master plan for Ireland Inc. to work from and to extrapolate what best to do with these assets.

LAMA has concerns some of the powers to be given to the LDA DAC go too far in creating an entity that could remove the decision making from the people, that is, the elected councillor. This would fly in the face of the principle of subsidiarity whereby decision making should be made nearest to the citizens, that is, the local authority and councillors.

Councillors have been aggrieved with the introduction of other vehicle mechanisms to provide housing, such as approved housing bodies and short-term and long-term leasing. Each of these has, in some way, removed the direct involvement of councils and councillors.

The diminution of decision making by locally elected members needs to halt. For one, we as a representative body cannot understand how more responsibility is not devolved to the executives of our councils to produce a medium-term to long-term plan on housing provision, cost that need and receive the requisite funding. The executive needs to be accountable for the delivery. Instead, the system is centralised at national level .

At present, we need Department approval to refurbish a social unit, never mind build a scheme. The provision of housing needs to be devolved again, with a DAC such as the LDA there to assist local authorities, provide expertise and step in, if needed, when that process is failing in a local authority.

Local authority members vehemently opposed any diminution of our powers under section 56 of the proposed Bill. We will not accept any changes to section 211(2) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 or section 183 of the Local Government Act 2001.

We contend any master plan by the LDA DAC would have to get oversight and approval by the local authority members before being aligned or inserted in any city and county development plan. Power of decision making should remain in the council chambers.

Only in exceptional circumstances, under ministerial direction, should land be acquired from a local authority without the consent of the chamber. LAMA proposes that lands acquired by the LDA DAC, for which they have no further use, be vested by ministerial order in the local authority relevant to where the lands are situated. LAMA would like to see the LDA DAC assist the local authorities in the regeneration of derelict sites. While some of our authorities are progressive in this, others may need assistance.

We urge our national legislators, especially our Senators who may be attending this meeting, to protect the mandate of the local authorities members in setting up this DAC. To do otherwise would be an affront to local democracy in Ireland.