Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 14 December 2023

Public Accounts Committee

Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage - Programme A - Housing
Financial Statements 2022 - The Housing Agency
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 11 - Utilisation of the Land Aggregation Scheme Sites

9:30 am

Mr. Bob Jordan:

The reason it had slowed down is also the reason the lands were transferred to us, which is that there was no capital money available at the time. It sped up because new opportunities have come about under Housing for All and the advent of the Land Development Agency and other needs. Also, AHBs are playing a more prominent role in the delivery of housing. There are other needs out there. Even if these lands are not used for housing, they can contribute to sustainable communities. We want to make sure we bottom it out completely with local authorities and get this done, ideally, before the residential zoned land tax comes into play in February 2025. Perhaps that is the purpose of the tax; to speed it up. That is what we are doing.