Mr. John Coleman:

I will give a brief version of my opening statement.

We are grateful for the opportunity to engage with the committee today. I would like to begin by assuring members that the LDA's delivery of affordable housing is ramping up significantly. Our latest figures show we are on course to reach an annual output of more than 2,500 homes by 2027 and we should become the country's largest producer of homes by then.

Since the LDA was established, we have focused on developing a strong pipeline of projects and we are now active on over 40 sites with a series of projects at every stage from design and planning through to construction. To illustrate the scope, impact and level of our activity, it might be useful for me to zone in on the period between our last appearance at this committee in June of this year and now and to outline the progress made. Since then, we reached an agreement with Horse Racing Ireland on the transfer of land in Leopardstown in Dublin with the potential for more than 800 homes. In the same month, we acquired another site in Cherrywood in Dublin for over 350 homes, and around 800 homes in combination with the adjacent local authority site. We acquired a site in Tallaght on the private market for 700 homes.

We launched a public consultation on our plans to deliver more than 2,000 homes on a site in Clongriffin where construction is already under way on more than 400 homes in the first phase. The Clongriffin Central site was acquired by the LDA in late 2023 and in March of this year, we announced the purchase of a neighbouring site in Baldoyle. The two sites together are located on either side of the Dublin to Belfast train line and we now have the ability to deliver over 4,000 homes in addition to supporting infrastructure, streets, parks and other amenities.

In June, we sought expressions of interest from home builders for a new phase of Project Tosaigh to utilise this delivery channel to ensure the development of much-needed apartments in key urban areas. In July, we opened applications for affordable purchase apartments in Shanganagh Castle estate where we have completed the direct delivery of 597 homes in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. We lodged a planning application for over 285 homes at the Gasworks site on the Dock Road in Limerick, which was transferred from Gas Networks Ireland.

We received planning permission for a 350-home development in Wilton in Cork on land transferred to the LDA by the ESB and we are currently expecting planning decisions on applications for over 380 homes in Bluebell Waterways in Dublin and 934 homes at Dundrum Central.

Just this week, we submitted a planning application for 345 homes at Galway Harbour. Earlier this month, we launched the start of construction on over 1,100 homes on two sites in Balbriggan and Skerries in north County Dublin.

These are just some of the transformative projects that we have been behind in recent months. I am pleased to report that there are already more than 5,000 people living in LDA-delivered homes. Our surveys of residents show high levels of satisfaction with our developments and our affordable housing rents and purchase prices.

The Government has also recently announced an expanded remit for the LDA in the provision of active land management and a greater geographical area of operation. We believe this will further support the agency in the execution of our mandate to accelerate housing delivery across Ireland. This is a clear endorsement of our substantial progress to date. We are ready to assist in this and, indeed, in certain cases we are already involved in such work.