Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this important matter for debate. I welcome the creation of the Land Development Agency, LDA. It will be a significant positive incentive in terms of its proposal to deliver 150,000 houses over the next 20 years. I would be grateful if the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, could update me on any legislation required and the powers of the agency. From the original press release, I note a chief executive and management team are in place in the agency.

I want to focus on Columb Barracks in Mullingar which was closed in 2012. It has an important historical significance for the town with events such as the capture of General Seán Mac Eoin in 1921. He was later Minister for Justice from 1948 to 1951 and Minister for Defence from 1954 to 1957. We need a solid framework to ensure the managed development of the Columb Barracks site which will encompass a strong social dividend, rehabilitate its listing buildings and ensure they have a sustainable use. We should also examine the potential of having a military museum at the site due to its historical significance. It has massive tourism potential for Mullingar. The site has a national significance and its history is part of the various milestones in the birth of the State.

The development of the site must have a strong social dividend for Mullingar. Several clubs and societies, like Lakeside Wheelers, the Olympic Boxing Club and the Order of Malta, are housed in the buildings of Columb Barracks. For example, Councillor Andrew Duncan, who works with me in Mullingar, is trying to get a framework to develop the site in a more sustainable way.

The fact the site will be under the control of one agency, the LDA, is positive. It will have the power to develop housing in a sustainable manner on the greenfield site as well as ensuring a sustainable future for its listed buildings. It will assist in developing a project which could be of benefit for the town of Mullingar.

I know the Minister is relentlessly focused on delivering housing and is successfully incentivising supply. He is also redressing the balance in State provision of housing. For so long, our State relied on the private sector to deliver housing under the Part V model. It is important to redress that balance to get the State to deliver housing again. The policies the Minister has implemented to achieve this are worthwhile and will bring significant dividends.

I want to ensure the LDA will not slice and dice the Columb Barracks site. I want to be confident that it will work with the local authority in having a framework to develop the site as an entity, as well as ensuring a sustainable use of the listed buildings with a social dividend for Mullingar and a bright future for the site.

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