Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 2 March 2017

Public Accounts Committee

2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Environment, Community and Local Government

9:00 am

Mr. John McCarthy:

I spoke about the land framework earlier that I want to put in place in the second half of this year so that there will be a robust regime that will deal with future land acquisitions. There are issues around value for money which is tied into usability, suitability from a zoning point of view and from a sustainable communities point of view. We need to articulate that in the legislation and associated guidance. We need much more clarity between the local authority and the Department. I do not know the specifics of the site the Deputy is talking about. I do not know if it is one that the council put forward for consideration as part of a wider land development under the local infrastructure housing activation fund. That may help but I do not know off-hand.