Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

This proposed amendment by Deputy Cian O’Callaghan relates to the information that is to be collected and made available by Tailte Éireann under a new section 8. I understand the intention of this amendment is that Tailte Éireann would commission a report to explore the feasibility of expanding the register to include an additional set of land and non-residential property information.

The intention of this Bill is to bring about the merger of the Property Registration Authority, Ordnance Survey Ireland and the Valuation Office, which includes the transfer of the current functions of these bodies into Tailte Éireann. It is not envisaged at this point to expand the current functions of the existing bodies during the merger process. However, there is already scope under the legislation for the Minister to call for reports and, therefore, it would not be appropriate to legislate for a specific report such as that which was outlined in Deputy O’Callaghan’s proposal.

Under section 10 of this Bill, the board of Tailte Éireann will have the statutory power to generally guide the strategic direction of Tailte Éireann and to advise or make recommendations having regard to Government policy. The Civil Service Renewal 2030 programme includes the ambition to develop and deliver trusted evidence and insights to inform public policy which advance the social, economic, cultural and environmental wellbeing of Ireland.

Improved data quality, analysis and sharing can improve the evidence base for policy development and can drive more seamless delivery. The pathways in Housing for All address challenges in our housing system, however, these do not exist in isolation but sit in a wider context.

Under Housing for All, the Government's housing plan to 2030, my Department is committed to evidence-based policy development and will continue to improve data availability and analysis. The Government recently published its first annual update of the plan's actions, which sets out how the Government is responding to changed circumstances in ensuring that focus remains on delivery. Under action 24.2 of the progress report, the Government has committed to developing a national zoned housing land register based on local authority development plans, including the potential housing yield or capacity, with a targeted delivery timeframe of quarter 1 of 2023. This register can also form the basis for the associated calculation of land use values required for land value sharing measures. Therefore, while I note the benefits of evidence to supporting policy development, such as the measures in the Deputy's proposal, the appropriate time for considering these matters is following the establishment of Tailte Éireann and the appointment of the board.

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