Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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252. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the Land Development Agency is fully operational; the budget provided per annum for the work of the Land Development Agency; and the number of staff currently employed by the Agency. [58837/21]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Land Development Agency (LDA) was established on an interim basis in September 2018, by way of an Establishment Order made under the Local Government Services (Corporate Bodies) Act 1971. The Land Development Agency Act was recently signed in law and, on commencement, the LDA will be established as a commercial State agency. In advance of the establishment of the new commercial entity, significant preparatory work is underway in relation to a number of development sites, with feasibility, planning and other preparatory works already initiated.

At present, funding is provided to the LDA through my Department's Vote to meet its operational costs as well as initial capital funding in relation to the development of its projects, pending its capitalisation from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) with the commencement shortly of the LDA Act. A breakdown of the allocated funding and funding drawn down for the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 (to date) is set out in the table below. It should be noted that Covid related safety restrictions impacted the progression of the LDA's projects during 2020 and 2021.

Under the LDA Act, funding of up to €1.25 billion will be made available to the LDA for the purposes of its activities through an investment from the ISIF. The LDA will also have the ability to borrow up to €1.25 billion to fund these activities.

Housing for All recognises that additional resourcing, likely to be in the form of borrowing, will be required to meet the increased level of activities envisaged under the plan. Approximately €1 billion will be required in 2024 to assist in funding the following:

- Pipeline of housing including on additional State lands;

- Accelerated housing through Project Tosaigh; and

- the National Asset Residential Property Services (NARPS) D.A.C from NAMA.

The LDA currently employs 51 staff members and continues to actively recruit staff, with a further 2 employees expected to join by the end of 2021. In line with its mandate, it will retain experienced staff with extensive skills and experience in project management, finance, planning, development, law and procurement and will provide professional services to master-plan key sites/areas for development in key urban areas, in partnership with local authorities and other state bodies.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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253. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number and details of projects the Land Development Agency is involved in; the projected dates of completion for these projects; and the breakdown of these projects in terms of the number of social, affordable and private houses generated. [58838/21]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Land Development Agency (LDA) was established on an interim basis in September 2018, by way of an Establishment Order made under the Local Government Services (Corporate Bodies) Act 1971. The Land Development Agency Act was recently signed in law and, on commencement, the LDA will be established as a commercial State agency.

There is ongoing engagement between the LDA and my Department in relation to the identification of relevant public lands suitable for the delivery of substantial additional housing in locations with a significant housing need. In the table below, are sites for future housing development which the LDA are currently engaged in.

The LDA is also developing a regional cities strategy. As part of this strategy, the LDA is running a design review of the Sandy Road Regeneration Project in Galway which has the potential for up to 1,000 homes. Also in partnership with Limerick City and County Council and other stakeholders, the LDA recently put a Draft Spatial Framework on public display in respect of the proposed regeneration of c.69 hectares of largely state owned land centred around Colbert station in Limerick.

A Cork Docklands Delivery Office was also established by Cork City Council in partnership with the LDA. The partnership will seek to promote a regeneration project of international scale and significance in Cork City. Cork City Docklands is Ireland’s largest regeneration project with a total area of 146ha of land. The new office will lead the development of thousands of homes and the creation of a new urban centre for international investment into Cork City.

The Government's Housing for All Strategy identifies a further 20 sites, in addition to the LDA's initial sites, with the potential to yield up to 15,000 units over time. These lands will transfer to LDA ownership as soon as practicable. The LDA, in consultation with the relevant Department, will undertake the process of due diligence on these lands, which will determine the appropriate residential yield for each site and other issues arising such as relocation of services.

An early site to transfer under Housing for All is the properties held by the Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA) in the Liberties area of Dublin. The Government announced earlier this year that the properties held by the DHDA are to be transferred to the LDA in mid-2022. The LDA intends to prepare a plan for development on the site and will engage with the local community and other stakeholders on other potential civic and community uses in addition to housing.

Under Housing for All, the LDA will also be responsible for ‘Project Tosaigh’, a new strategy to unlock stalled or slow developments on non-state lands. As part of this plan, the LDA will be tasked with intervening in slow or stalled developments, through an open and transparent process, designed to ascertain the potential for it to enter into strategic partnerships with landowners in order to unlock and accelerate delivery. It is estimated that this plan could deliver up to 5,000 new affordable homes on such lands that otherwise would not have been delivered, or would be delivered much more slowly. An initial call for expressions of interest has now been opened by the LDA and is set to run until early December.

Under the LDA Act, there is a minimum 50% affordable housing delivery requirement for those relevant public lands which are subject to Part 9 of the Act, with a minimum of 80% affordable housing on relevant public lands in urban areas with a population greater than 150,000, that is Dublin and Cork cities. This will be in addition to the increased 20% Part V social and affordable housing obligation being introduced under the Affordable Housing Act which will ensure that there will be 100% affordable and social housing on such lands in our largest cities.

Completion dates will also be dependent on the finalisation of plans and planning permission being sought as many of the sites will be phased over years due to size and scale of the developments.