Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 23 January 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Update on Affordable Homes, Public Lands, Strategic Planning and Projects: Land Development Agency

Mr. John Coleman:

Yes, in a risk-adjusted way with safety mechanisms put in because we are handling State money here, at the end of the day. We plan for the day when something goes wrong but we work to ensure that does not happen. We give staged payments on a monthly basis for a large portion of the delivery costs. We are running that through a public procurement process so only the top-bidding counterparties will win. That will be very significantly on the basis of cost but also quality and location.

To sum up, we deal with the market in an open and transparent way. We seek to invoke structures that drive value for money such as competitive processes.