Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Acting Chair and I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this important issue. As the Acting Chair said, NESC, which is a social partnership body, has underlined how the LDA will be a game-changer in tackling our housing crisis. As outlined by the Acting Chair and as many in the House will know, it can act as a State developer and will confront much of the dysfunctional, private developer-led development that has scarred some of this country. It will do that by assembling lands in strategic areas, purchasing lands strategically and using State lands. It will master plan compact sustainable urban development in these areas, break the hold of hoarders who have held much of the land and kept the land price too high, blend public and private finance so we get efficiency of cost delivery at scale and consult affordability head on.

These are important benefits that it can unleash. However, its potential will be killed at source if we continue to see the ideological, hard-left policy position that was exposed recently in the refusal of Dublin City Council to allow a development at Oscar Traynor Road to go ahead. That would comprise 853 badly needed homes for the community in that area. The reason they insist on turning that away is they do not want integrated development on public lands. I profoundly disagree. We need integrated development. Where we have had single-type development, even in our own area, it has not been successful. Look at the Ballymun flats, which had to be pulled down, or Darndale, which had to be radically transformed within 20 years of its construction. They also refuse to recognise that the State must seek to support everyone who needs homes: those who want to acquire affordable homes and buy a home for themselves, those who want cost rental, those who want private homes and those who want social housing.

The Oscar Traynor Road project was exemplary in the approach taken. It was a master plan developed in the four years since 2016. It would have ensured the provision of well-deserved facilities, including childcare facilities, public parks, retail opportunities and so on. The Oscar Traynor Road site adjoins a school. The plan involved a balanced mix, with 30% social housing, 20% affordable housing for purchase, 25% cost rental and 25% private housing.

In a transparent attempt almost two days after the decision was made, Sinn Féin sought to justify what happened by putting forward a misrepresentation of the comparative cost of direct build by Dublin City Council and the approach taken in respect of Oscar Traynor Road. The reality is that developing by means of direct build would have been €80,000 more expensive if done by the city council than under the programme developed in the master plan. That was available to all the councillors at the time but there was an attempt to muddy the waters.

We need to see the process relating to the LDA being accelerated. The LDA can be transformative but it must cater to all needs and break the problem of affordable purchase for many people. I ask the Minister to sit down with the NESC and discuss how the LDA can achieve its potential. It is a balanced social partnership and it recognises that some of the approach advocated by left-wing parties will undermine its value.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and giving me the opportunity to update the House on the LDA and its role in the use of State lands. The programme for Government commits to the State playing a greater role in providing affordable and social homes, with a focus on low and middle-income earners and developing sustainable mixed-tenure communities. These principles guide housing policy as well as the agency's work in assembling strategic sites in urban areas and ensuring the sustainable development of social and affordable homes for rent and purchase. This will include ensuring that the public housing rental stock on public lands is under the control of local authorities, approved housing bodies or similar bodies. The programme for Government provides that any State land being offered for sale would automatically be offered first to the LDA. This would mean that, if such lands could be acquired by the agency, it would ensure that they remained in the State's ownership and were used to provide appropriate housing in line with the agency's mandate.

The agency was established on an interim basis in September 2018 by way of an establishment order. A revised general scheme of the Land Development Agency Bill to establish the agency as a commercial State agency was approved by Government order in October for priority drafting. It is intended that the legislation will be published shortly. My Department is working closely with the Office of the Attorney General on this draft legislation to ensure that the agency is given all the necessary powers to carry out its functions in line with those envisaged in the recently published NESC report.

The Land Development Agency has an immediate focus on managing the State's lands to develop new homes and regenerate underutilised sites in the long term. It will assemble strategic land banks from a mix of public and private lands, making these available for housing in a controlled manner that brings essential long-term stability to the housing market. Along with its initial eight sites, the agency is working in partnership with local authorities to develop a master plan at a range of strategic sites, for example, the Shanganagh Castle site. The agency, in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, has been granted planning permission for the development of 597 homes on that site. It is intended that approximately 34% of the units in the development will be for social housing, 51% will be for cost rental and 15% will be for affordable purchase.

The tenure mix of sites will be considered on a site-by-site basis, taking into account the need to counteract undue segregation in the housing of persons from different social backgrounds. In addition, mixed tenures can help foster the organic growth of sustainable mixed communities.

As part of its remit, the LDA is working to develop an inventory of all relevant public lands to allow for the better management of, and strategic planning in respect of, these assets and the unlocking of their urban regeneration potential.

I acknowledge the role played by the former Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, in outlining the vision for the agency and devising it as a key tool for delivering social and affordable homes in mixed tenures on behalf of the State. This will provide high-quality homes for our citizens. The NESC report shines a light on how we can develop this process and the powers that the agency needs to be given to make a substantial impact on the housing market. I would have no issue with the Department and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, meeting the NESC, given that the council is an important actor in this process. I thank the Deputy for the work his did on this matter as a member of the previous Government alongside Deputy Eoghan Murphy.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for that and for making it clear that the vision for the LDA is to use public lands and meet the needs of all of our community, not just some sections of it. The ability to crack the affordability issue for many who want to buy their own home is central to the agency.

Will the Minister of State explain how the agency will deal with the Oscar Traynor Road site? There have been meetings and it has been suggested that the Minister should meet all parties to discuss how this project can move forward. The site is exemplary and blocking the development was a bad decision. Worse than that, if this approach continues, it will undermine the value of the agency that the Government is seeking to put in place. It is important that the Government make clear that the purpose of the Land Development Agency is to ensure that we confront the bad approach of private-only development in this country, which has not resulted in the ideal approach, balanced development and planned schemes of compact and sustainable housing that we want for the future.

It is important that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage sits down with the NESC and work this out. We need a fit-for-purpose vehicle because we must be bold and ambitious. We are facing major changes. Not only will there be a 1 million population increase, but we must address that increase in a way that halves our impact on climate in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and caters for a rapidly ageing population. We need an agency that can devise a master plan for the new vision of Ireland that these changes entail.

I commend the Minister of State on his work to date and ask him to ensure that the proper approach is enshrined, one that serves our entire community rather than just sections of it.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic. The LDA will actively manage the development of public land in a way that will make a major contribution to tackling the root causes of our housing issues. Broadly in line with the NESC report, it will make a substantial contribution to the achievement of wider Government targets for social housing and housing delivery in general.

The agency has significant potential to play a wider role, not only in addressing pressures in the housing sector in the short-to-medium term, but in the longer term to enable the urban development objectives of the national planning framework to be realised. I have every confidence in the work of the LDA and that it will ensure the optimal usage of State lands, co-ordinate regeneration and development in opening key sites and unlock their potential, especially for the delivery of new homes.

Regarding the Oscar Traynor Road site, it is my view that protecting ideology trumped all and affordable, high-quality homes for our citizens were sacrificed. That approach serves no good for people who are looking for affordable homes. There were inaccuracies in recent parliamentary questions. They were presented to the public and the media in a way that spun a false narrative. We must point that out. I have spoken to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, who has engaged directly with the local authority to try to bring about a resolution, but we must be clear, in that the ideology that has been advanced by some will serve society no good and will not provide the affordable homes in long-term tenancies that our citizens richly deserve.