Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin TD has commented on media reports that under the new Land Development Agency legislation, valuable local authority land can be sold on to the Agency without the consent of democratically elected councillors. 

The Dublin Mid West TD has said that undermining local democracy to force councils to use public land for unaffordable private housing ‘is not acceptable.’

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“This latest manoeuvre by the Minister for Housing is dangerously undemocratic and will further erode local democracy.

“The only reason he is doing this is to force councils to transfer land to the Land Development Agency where public land can be used for unaffordable private housing. This is not acceptable.

“This is the policy of Minister who is throwing his toys out of the pram because he is irritated by people showing him there is a better way to deliver genuinely affordable homes.

“I don’t know why Fianna Fáil is so terrified of local democracy and their councillors getting to have a say on the sale of local authority land. 

“I now understand why the Minister was so desperate to avoid pre-legislative scrutiny of this legislation. Again, another undemocratic step taken to avoid legitimate scrutiny of significant legislation.

“The Minister’s time would be better spent on ensuring local councils have adequate funding and staff to deliver social and affordable homes on public land instead of continuing the failed Fine Gael policy of allowing public land to be used for unaffordable open market price housing.”