Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will address amendments Nos. 157, 164, 166, 175, 179 and 180 tabled by Deputy Cian O’Callaghan, No. 158 tabled by Deputy Duncan Smith, who had to leave to attend another committee meeting, amendments Nos. 160, 169 and 170 jointly tabled by Deputies Cian O’Callaghan, Ó Broin and Gould, and amendments Nos. 163, 165, 174, 175 and 183 jointly tabled by Deputies Ó Broin and Gould.

Amendment No. 157 seeks to amend section 53 to delete the reference to “market value” and change it to “existing use value” and No. 183 seeks to introduce a similar amendment to section 54.

Amendment No. 158 seeks to delete section 53 and replace it with an amended provision that provides that the relevant public body disposing of land to the LDA will receive a price that is cost neutral for them.

Amendments Nos. 160, 164, 166, 169, 170, 175 and 179 seek to amend section 53 by deleting the reference to “market value” and replacing it with “existing use value”.

Amendments Nos. 163, 165 and 175 seek to amend section 53 by deleting subsections (2) and (3) and amending the matters that the Minister can prescribe regarding how land is to be valued.

I will not accept these amendments. I have tabled an amendment to provide for a definition of "market value" that will allow the land to be valued taking account the proposed use of the land, which will be to deliver significant levels of affordable housing as well as Part V housing. I believe this is a more appropriate valuation. Where land is being used for affordable housing, I expect the land value to be extremely low.

The definition of "market value" is an accepted technical definition used by persons valuing land including the Valuation Office which will undertake most valuations of land under this part. For any valuation of land or property to take place, there must be an accepted understanding of what market value means. I reiterate that when land is being valued under Part 7 it will take into account the proposed use of the land, which will be to deliver significant levels oaf affordable housing as well as Part V housing.

That is a 50% minimum and there is also 10% social housing and 10% affordable housing under Part V. That is 70% in total. I have also tabled an amendment to section 53(2) and to section 53(3). It is important that the Minister can have the power to prescribe how land will be valued, and the matters that the Minister can prescribe are very clearly set out in section 53(4). These provisions should be removed from the Bill.

Amendment No. 180 seeks to amend section 54 by removing the reference to the local authority. Section 54 provides that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage can vest relevant public land in the LDA once a decision has been made that the LDA would acquire the land after it has been offered to it for sale by the relevant public body under section 51 or following a direction from the Government under section 52.

Vesting is often used where land is transferring from one public body to another and it can be a speedier process than traditional conveyancing. It is appropriate that the Minister can vest local authority land in the LDA only where the land has been offered for sale by a local authority under section 51. I do not consider it is appropriate to remove this provision. Local authority owned land cannot be vested by the Minister to the LDA unless it has been offered for sale to it by the local authority.