Housing

Cabinet approves land transfer to agency to deliver up to 3,330 new homes

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien won government approval for transfer of lands to deliver homes across the country

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien won Cabinet approval for lands transfer

The Cabinet has approved the transfer of State-owned land on 9 sites to the Land Development Agency to deliver up to 3,330 new homes.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien got approval from his fellow ministers to transfer lands in Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, Cork and Galway.

One of the sites chosen is the land at the site of the mint in Sandyford in south Dublin.

At Cabinet, O’Brien gave an update on Land Development Agency sites and received Government approval to transfer nine additional sites to the LDA.

The potential yield of these sites is between 2800 and 3330 homes, the meeting was told.

The chosen sites are among a number of sites considered in the LDA’s Report on Relevant Public Lands, which was published last March, and have been earmarked for more medium to longer term delivery.

Agreeing their transfer will help secure the continued LDA housing delivery pipeline, O’Brien said.

The sites where there is a Full Transfer of Land are:Bluebell, Dublin; Bolton Street Car Park, Waterford; Waterside Car Park, Waterford; Rosbrien Road, Limerick and Model Farm Road, Cork.

The sites where there is a Partial Transfer of Land are: Carrickmines Little (Horse Racing Ireland); Galway Harbour; St.Otterans Hospital, Waterford and Sandyford (Central Bank of Ireland).

Also at Cabinet, Finance Minister Michael McGrath told ministers that Home Building Finance Ireland approved loans worth €1.6bn supporting 8,495 new homes in 129 developments in 22 counties.

This is an increase of 33 per cent on the €1.25bn in approvals at the end of 2022.

The Cabinet was told that HBFI has exceeded the 5-year target set by the Government when it was launched in 2019, approving funding for 8,495 homes over that period versus a target of 7,500.

In total, 2,837 HBFI-funded units have already been sold, with a further 1,501 contracted for sale or sale agreed as at the end of December 2023.

Ministers were told that 47 per cent of HBFI-funded homes are for owner-occupiers, 30 per cent for social/affordable housing, 6 per cent Part V and 17 per cent for renters.

The body was launched in January 2019 with an initial loan fund of up to €730m, capable of delivering 7,500 new homes over five years.