Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely you did. The board of the LDA discussed putting co-living on a public site, which was the former Meath Hospital. I want to clarify that. We can have such situations with the board of the LDA, or with people involved with the board of the LDA. This Bill says that the LDA has the ability to acquire land by compulsory purchase order if it is of strategic importance or if it is needed to connect sites. The legal protections that apply to the Phoenix Park do not apply to the OPW-owned lands in Farmleigh. The LDA is not accountable to the Oireachtas. It is accountable to the Minister. Under the powers that the LDA will have, it could potentially decide that it is going to connect up sites in the Castleknock and Blanchardstown areas of west Dublin and it needs a portion of land to do so. I am not saying this would happen under this Government. It is this type of thing that the amendment is trying to protect against. Again, in national parks such as Killarney National Park, there is a land population. I am not saying that this is going to happen, and I do not think it will. There will certainly be enough public land available to the LDA. However, co-living brought home to me how the board of the LDA might think in terms of things like that. I am seeking to copper-fasten in legislation that they will not be able to do these things.