The LDA has two main functions:
- Coordinating appropriate State lands for regeneration and development, opening up key sites which are not being used effectively for housing delivery; and
- Driving strategic land assembly, working with both public and private sector landowners to smooth out peaks and troughs of land supply, stabilising land values and delivering increased affordability.
The LDA has an immediate focus on assessing, accessing and managing the State’s own lands to develop new housing-led projects and repurpose under-utilised sites.
In the longer-term it will assemble strategic land areas from a mix of public and private sources, making these available for housing in a control led manner with the objective of supporting long-term stability in the Irish housing market.
Sites will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The LDA has a national remit. Its focus is on supporting compact urban growth and regeneration. Hence, the LDA will prioritise Ireland’s key urban locations.
In the short-term, the LDA can support affordable housing delivery mechanism by utilising its access to State owned lands. In the long-term, by assisting with the coordination of larger-scale land areas ahead of the planning and infrastructure delivery stages, the Agency can help stabilise and moderate development land prices, thereby tackling upward pressure on housing delivery costs.
The LDA is accountable to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government.
The LDA will work with local authorities, state agencies and the private sector to deliver opportunity sources from the State sector and to identify public and private land areas for development purposes.
The LDA has access to an initial portfolio of sites capable of delivering up to 3,000 homes and continually engages with State sector bodies to unlock further land areas. Due to the fact that the LDA’s initial portfolio of sites had not been advanced from a design and planning perspective, significant work is underway to position them for housing delivery.
Government funding of €1.25 billion has been made available to the LDA.