James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We recently got approval from the Cabinet to increase the Land Development Agency's role. Geography is one part of that. A second part of it relates to it helping local authorities to master-plan their delivery. When we combine the role of the LDA with the local authorities' plans, urban development zones, and the housing activation office, which is my team on the ground to help unlock utility services, we can really unlock some very large sites across the country. The role of the Land Development Agency is very important and we will continue to work on it.

In terms of vacant housing, I will bring information to the Cabinet in the coming months to set out what local authorities are achieving in terms of turning around what are sometimes referred to as voids. Some local authorities turn them around very quickly but others are simply not doing that. There is no reason for them not to be turned around as quickly as possible.

When a local authority house becomes vacant, health and safety works must be carried out and the property must be habitable for the family that is going to move into it, but what some local authorities are doing is taking an opportunity to completely refurbish the entire property, which is taking an inordinate amount of time. That needs to be done as part of planned works, not simply when a property becomes vacant. We must get properties turned around as quickly as possible. While a certain amount of work needs to be done as planned maintenance, local authorities should not take the opportunity when a property becomes empty to take five to seven months to do a large amount of work on it. That simply should not be the case. We will continue to do that.

The Deputy asked about private sites in regard to the Land Development Agency. We are addressing the mix of work it can do in terms of the homes it can deliver. Up to now it has been doing social and affordable to a large degree and on public lands. It will now have greater powers to be able to acquire private lands and to do a mix. I believe having a mixed tenure on site of social and affordable and private is really good for communities, rather than having social housing all in one envelope, affordable in another envelope and private in another envelope. It is to the benefit of everybody where there is a proper mix.