The government has approved an additional funding package of up to €2.5bn for the Land Development Agency (LDA). This announcement doubles the agency’s capitalisation to support the construction of thousands of homes on state-owned land.
Despite falling short of the initially proposed €6bn, it is indicated within the government that the LDA did not require the entire sum in one go.
The approved financial package is deemed sufficient to cover the initial years of the LDA’s business plan spanning from 2024 to 2028. The €2.5bn was determined through discussions between the LDA and the government’s New ERA agency, focusing on the agency’s anticipated needs for 2024 and 2025.
Land Development Agency response
In a statement released by the LDA, its chief executive, John Coleman, said, “The LDA welcomes the government’s decision to increase the agency’s funding substantially. The extra funding will ensure that the LDA is in a position to make commitments of up to €5bn, which should enable the agency to continue to deliver significant amounts of affordable and social housing through to 2025.
“The LDA is currently in the process of delivering over 10,000 direct delivery homes on State-owned land or land purchased by the agency. It is also on target to deliver a further 5,000 Project Tosaigh homes by 2026.
“The LDA also has advanced plans to increase this level of activity, which requires significant levels of capital investment. Given today’s decision, it is projected that the agency will become one of Ireland’s main housebuilders, public or private, over the term of its current five-year business plan (2023 to 2028), with significant levels of delivery having already commenced.”