Professor Michelle Norris:

Obviously, the LDA would be better placed to directly answer that question than I am. In my view, though, we have not cracked the nut. The LDA has achieved some land transfers and conducted some land purchases from commercial semi-State bodies. In my view, such bodies tend to manage their land banks much more actively than non-commercial semi-States or public bodies. That part has worked effectively and it has achieved some land transfers for its own development. The issue, however, is that in an ideal world the LDA would also be taking in land it would make available to other providers.

The Housing Commission, of which I was a member, suggested that the should LDA take in land and then make it available through developer competitions. The LDA would invite expressions of interest from, for example, AHBs to develop those sites. This is important because both local authorities and AHBs, but AHBs in particular, have huge challenges in buying land. In my view, these challenges mean there is an over-reliance on so-called "turnkey" development and not enough development of houses from scratch. There is also not enough development of small infill sites in towns and cities. Some of those are State lands and could be accessed. The expansion of the LDA's role in terms of acting as a public land bank or to provide land for other affordable housing providers would address a whole series of problems.