Local Authorities must be the lead provider of social and affordable housing in the State, but this is now under threat from the Government’s Land Development Agency Bill 2021.
This is the view of Mary Hoade, president of the Association of Irish Local Government. She is also a Fianna Fáil Galway county councillor.
The AILG has raised its concerns directly with the Housing Minister Daragh O’Brien about the Bill, which has already proven highly controversial.
The Bill provides that the LDA will periodically report to the Government on public lands which could be suitable for housing or urban development and the Government may direct such lands be transferred to the LDA.
Market price?
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The Bill defines affordable as 'below market price' but gives no guarantee as to how much below such unaffordable prices this will be, and states that market prices and rents will be the starting point, rather than income and ability to pay. Average home prices have shown an 8.6 per cent year-on-year increase, making Galway the second most expensive county in the State.
Another controversial aspect of the Bill is that it will allow local authorities to transfer state lands to the LDA without a vote from councillors. This overriding of the oversight and local knowledge councillors can provide is being seen as a further erosion of local democracy.
No deviation
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Cllr Hoade said the AILG is concerned by the Bill’s “potential implications” for local authorities, and elected members, in their “delivery of social and affordable housing into the future”.
She said: “This proposal, in one fell swoop, takes away an important reserved function of our members as Elected Members of their Local Authority.”
While AILG said it was committed to working with the Minister to address the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis, it said local authorities must continue to be “central to any public housing delivery programme. There cannot be any deviation from that”.
