Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing, Eoin Ó Broin TD, has called on the government to urgently conduct and publish a full audit of all zoned and serviced residential land as part of the National Planning Framework review.

The call was made in response to Goodbody Stockbrokers’ research publication on residential land availability.

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“Sinn Féin’s alternative housing plan committed to the delivery of 300,000 new homes over the next five years. For this to be achieved, we need to ensure that public and private residential developers have access to a sufficient supply of zoned and serviced land in appropriate locations.

“Today, Goodbody Stockbrokers published a report on residential zoned land. The research was commissioned by eight commercial home building companies.

“The report is a welcome addition to the debate on whether we have a sufficient supply of zoned and serviced land to meet our housing need.

“What is clear reading the report is that there is no publicly available audit of zoned and serviced residential land.

“Sinn Féin’s housing plan, A Home of Your Own, includes the transformation of the Land Development Agency into an Active Land Management Agency. One of the tasks of such a body would be to undertake and publish an audit of all zoned and serviced residential land in the state. This information is vital to proper planning both statewide and at a local level.

“The government is currently reviewing the National Planning Framework. As part of this, they should request the LDA to undertake and publish the audit to ensure that our councils’ development plans have a sufficient supply of land, in the right place, with the appropriate zoning and services, to meet the housing deficit and emerging demand.”