Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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On establishing the Land Development Agency (LDA) and in Housing for All, the Government agreed the transfer of almost 30 parcels of State -owned land to the LDA to deliver housing.

We are now seeing real progress on the better use of vacant and underutilised State land as the transfer of lands to the LDA is now under way, and a strong housing delivery pipeline from those lands is being developed which will optimise the LDA's delivery capacity for the next 5-10 years.

In Cork City, construction work is under way at the St Kevin’s Hospital site which was formally transferred to the LDA from the HSE last year. 265 homes are scheduled to be delivered on the site, with the first homes due for completion in 2025. The remaining homes are projected to be delivered in 2026/2027.

The transfer of land at Devoy Barracks in Naas, Co. Kildare to the LDA is also now complete, and 219 homes are expected to be delivered on the site. Construction commenced in December 2023 and delivery of the first phase of homes is expected in mid 2025.

The LDA has secured planning approval for 345 homes in Hackettstown, Skerries and 817 homes in Castlelands, Balbriggan and the transfer of these sites to the LDA from the Housing Agency is in progress. Planning Permission has also been granted for 847 homes on the former Central Mental Hospital site in Dundrum.

The transfer of land and design work is under way to allow a planning application within the next year on the vacant ESB land at Wilton with a potential yield of approximately 300 homes.

The LDA are also partnering with local authorities to deliver social and affordable homes on local authority land. Construction of 597 new homes at Shanganagh, Co Dublin is being delivered in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) and will be devoted 100% to affordable and social homes, with the first homes expected to be delivered this year.

The LDA have also secured approval for 543 units at the Donore project on the site of the former St Teresa’s Gardens complex, which is a partnership with Dublin City Council. The LDA is also partnering with Dublin City Council on the delivery of 146 new homes at Cromcastle, Dublin 5 with construction due to commence on site this year.

In addition, the LDA and Dublin City Council have announced a new development of over 1,100 homes at Cherry Orchard Point in Dublin, which, along with retail and community space, is to be developed on greenfield lands owned by Dublin City Council. A planning application for Phase 1 (708 homes) was made to An Bord Pleanála in December 2023 and proposals for Phases 2 and 3 are currently at pre-planning stage.

The LDA's first Report on Relevant Public Lands, published in 2023, identified a potential pipeline of further sites for future housing delivery. Suitable sites for housing development being recommended for transfer to the LDA will be considered by Government in sets, based on highest priority sites and lowest level of site constraints.

Following a series of stakeholder engagement meetings between my Department and the land owners for each of these sites, recommendations were made to and agreed by Government in February, to transfer a further 9 state owned sites to the LDA for the development of affordable and social housing. These 9 sites are spread across locations in Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, Cork and Galway, and collectively have the potential to deliver over 3,000 homes.

Subsequent sets of sites will be considered by Government in due course. These transferred sites will add to the LDA's existing housing delivery pipeline of social and affordable homes

In line with Action 10.1 of the Housing for All Action Plan Update and Q3 2023 Progress Report, progress on sites transferring to the LDA for public housing development will be continue to be outlined in the Housing for All quarterly reports, which can be accessed on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/9d2ee-housing-for-all-quarterly-progress-reports/ The Housing for All Q1 2024 Progress Report will be published shortly.