The LDA is required to assess and report on relevant public lands as set out in Section 52 of the LDA Act 2021.

The main objective of the report is to identify public lands that may have potential for future sustainable development, including the provision of new affordable homes. The lands identified are generally in key locations which have potential to be developed for housing. The LDA has assessed the lands and considers they have the potential to be developed in the future to deliver affordable and social housing and also support with building a stable pipeline of housing land supply that supports enhanced affordability now and into the future.

This report shall be submitted to the Government within one year from the commencement of the legislation (end Q1 2023) and at least every two years thereafter.

The LDA Act can be read here. Section 52 of the LDA Act outlines the details of the Report. The Act requires that the LDA assess all relevant public land in settlements of over 10,000 population. Currently there are 48 settlements that meet this criteria. This first Report focuses on the five cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway and the five regional centres of Drogheda, Dundalk, Athlone Letterkenny and Sligo

The LDA utilised the Register of Relevant Public Lands to review relevant land and assess whether it is fit for the purpose of providing affordable housing. This was as a stepped process consisting of:

1. Baseline Information Data Gathering of approx. 180,000 folios from the Register of Relevant Public Land.
2. High-level sifting of land in cities and census towns greater than 10,000 in population to remove land not suitable for providing housing.
3. Land characteristics were assessed against set criteria based on readiness for development.
4. A long list of lands were divided into three classes depending on the level of constraint associated with each site.
5. A high level assessment was conducted on indicative developable areas to determine an indicative yield, infrastructure requirements and cost associated with delivering the development. The costs are indicative and fixed at a point in time.

This process is outlined in detail in the methodology section of the Report.

Each parcel of land within the report has been assigned a class which reflects the level of constraints associated with the area based on the high-level assessment carried out as part of this report. The level of known constraints has, in turn, an impact on the steps required to bring the land to a stage where housing can be delivered and, therefore, on the associated timelines. It is estimated that a Class 1 site may take up to 6 years for the delivery of homes while Class 2 and 3 sites could take considerably longer. The Report identifies the indicative potential for the state lands, and will require consultation and more detailed assessment to determine the specific proposals.

The Report is advisory and cannot mandate the transfer or repurposing of the land identified. The Report is for consideration by the Government. The LDA will continue to work with Government and key stakeholder to explore opportunities on the site identified.

Part 9 of the LDA Act outlines the specified percentage of housing to be built on relevant public lands that shall be used for social and affordable homes. In areas above 150,000 in population (Dublin and Cork cities), this is set at 100%, while in the remaining census towns it is set at 70%.