Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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87. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will consider appointing a member with a background and expertise in sustainable design, planning and environmental development to the board of the Land Development Agency. [3303/22]

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 2021 was signed in law in July 2021. Provisions of the Act, allowing for the establishment of a new LDA Designated Activity Company (DAC), have now been commenced. The remainder of the LDA Act will shortly be commenced providing for the dissolution of the existing entity and the transfer of its functions and staff to the new LDA DAC.

A competition to recruit a number of ordinary board members to the LDA DAC will be run in line with the stateboards.ie process by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) in conjunction with the New Economy and Recovery Authority (NewERA). The recruitment process will seek to ensure that the LDA Board includes a cross-spectrum of construction, delivery of housing, financial, governance and other independent experts including sustainability experts needed to fulfill its remit in accordance with the Programme for Government commitment, and is provided for in Section 16 of the LDA Act. The stateboards.ie process would also seek to recruit suitable candidates with a background and expertise in sustainable design, planning and environmental development to the board of the Land Development Agency.

Following an open stateboards.ie competition run by PAS in conjunction with NewERA, Mr. Cormac O’ Rourke has been selected as Chairperson of the LDA commercial agency. The LDA Chairperson would also input into the stateboards.ie process for the recruitment of ordinary LDA board members in line with normal practice.