Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's response is a fantasy. He stated that no land has been transferred to the LDA and that it is not likely that anything will be transferred. He hopes the legislation will be enacted quickly but he should hurry up if that is what he wants this to happen. For example, at Castlelands in Balbriggan, the local authority is rushing through a master plan in advance of a potential transfer of the land to the LDA. The master plan was produced over and above the heads of the residents, with over-intensification of the site and inappropriate housing. It is being rushed because the local authority wants to get it done before the land is transferred to the LDA. If the LDA is to be the vehicle that will deliver housing on a mass scale, it is certainly a slow-moving one.

I read reports in the newspapers during the summer that some of the staff within the LDA stated that they would not be subject to the Regulation of Lobbying Act. Who are they to decide whether they will be subject to the Act? One would have thought that would be for the Oireachtas to decide by way of legislation. Is it the Minister's intention that the LDA will be subject to the Regulation of Lobbying Act? If not, I put him on notice that I will table amendments to the legislation when it is published to ensure that the agency will be subject to the Act.

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