LDA Bill: Government plans to acquire council lands without councillor vote

Gary Ibbotson 05 Feb 2021

Government plans to allow the sale of county council lands to the Land Development Agency (LDA) without the vote of councillors have been strongly criticised by opposition parties.

On Friday, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien published the LDA Bill 2021, which he says will give the agency the ability to provide social housing, affordable homes for purchase and cost rental housing.

The bill would allow the transfer lands to the LDA without requiring council votes, which he said would have the effect of “accelerating the process, clearing blockages and driving on development”.

Under current legislation, councillors have the authority to block the sale of land to the Government or a private developer via a vote.

The most recent example of this was the large Oscar Traynor site in north Dublin.

Sinn Féin councillor Daithi Doolan said the Government’s plan must be resisted by Dublin City Councillors.

He said: “The proposed Land Development Agency is nothing more than a costly grab of council land and does nothing to solve Dublin’s housing crisis.

“The powers given to this agency will allow it to buy local authority land without consent of councillors.

“This is ludicrous. It is another costly layer of bureacracy preventing City Council building council housing and affordable housing on council land.

“This is privatisation in all but name. The money made available to buy council land should instead be released to local authorities to build on our land and to buy private land to deliver essential public housing.”

Doolan says the local authority has the scope and resources to deliver public housing.

“Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien would be better off working with us rather than against us.

“Dublin City Council has the plans to deliver social and affordable housing. What we urgently need is funding and less bureaucracy.

“Dublin City Council has plans to deliver 5,334 units of social housing, 1,779 affordable to buy homes and a further 2,025 cost rental homes.

“In fact, in 2015, 2016 and 2017 Dublin City Council met 144% of its housing target.”

Doolan says the funding earmarked for the LDA should be reassigned to help local authorities develop housing projects.

“The €1.25 billion ringfenced for the Land Development Agency should be released to City Council to fund our ambitious plans for the Oscar Traynor site and St. Michael’s estate.

“This Government agency is yet another attempt to create a smokescreen behind which they can hide their failed housing policies.”

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