Richard Boyd Barrett: DLR Properties sale is a scandal
Richard Boyd Barrett challenged the Taoiseach over DLR Properties' decision to put land zoned for more than a thousand houses up for sale, arguing the move risks losing potential social affordable homes. He told the Dail the board overseeing the land is not accountable to elected representatives and is dominated by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors.
Richard Boyd Barrett calls the decision by DLR Properties, a corporate subsidiary of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council, absolutely disgraceful. He argues land that could deliver more than a thousand social affordable homes is being offered to the market instead of being made available to bodies like the LDA.
The TD highlights that the DLR Properties board is not accountable to locally elected representatives and notes its membership includes Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors. He frames the sale as a governance failure with serious implications for housing availability and affordability.
The Taoiseach responded that he did not have the full story and indicated local councils and their subsidiaries operate with delegated authority. He suggested there may be reasons for the sale, including speed of delivery, but Richard Boyd Barrett said he will follow the matter up and press for clarity.
The exchange raises questions about how publicly owned land is managed and whether it should be prioritised for social and affordable housing. The TD urges scrutiny of decisions that could send public land to private developers and undermine affordable housing targets.
Decision to sell public land:
Richard Boyd Barrett calls the decision by DLR Properties, a corporate subsidiary of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council, absolutely disgraceful. He argues land that could deliver more than a thousand social affordable homes is being offered to the market instead of being made available to bodies like the LDA.
Accountability and governance:
The TD highlights that the DLR Properties board is not accountable to locally elected representatives and notes its membership includes Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors. He frames the sale as a governance failure with serious implications for housing availability and affordability.
Government response and limits:
The Taoiseach responded that he did not have the full story and indicated local councils and their subsidiaries operate with delegated authority. He suggested there may be reasons for the sale, including speed of delivery, but Richard Boyd Barrett said he will follow the matter up and press for clarity.
Context and consequences:
The exchange raises questions about how publicly owned land is managed and whether it should be prioritised for social and affordable housing. The TD urges scrutiny of decisions that could send public land to private developers and undermine affordable housing targets.
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Transcript
Taoiseach, I asked you about what I just considered to be the absolutely disgraceful decision of DLR Properties, which is a corporate subsidiary of Dun Laoghaire-y-Rhettown County Council, to put up for sale land zoned for more than a thousand houses. So more than a thousand social affordable homes we could have, but instead a board which is not accountable to the elected representatives of Dun Laoghaire-y-Rhettown or to the public, but is populated by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors, has decided to sell off public land. And I asked you about it last week and I'd like to note because this is disgraceful. I mean I thought all publicly owned land that could be available for social affordable housing was supposed to be made available for example to the LDA. The idea we're selling it off to private developers who are then going to build housing that nobody can afford is a scandal. Deputy Boyd Barrett, again I don't think I have the full story from you. I probably have the story from you from your perspective, but I would be interested to know that it'll definitely go for housing and there's a thousand houses will be built there. I don't know, I don't know the background to this and I mean I don't run every council, I don't run every subsidiary of every council, nor should I. We do delegate authority to local councils who are elected by the people in the given locality to get things done. But we never, the Oireachtas pays lip service to that idea and to that notion. Yeah but look, they've decided to sell the subsidiary I imagine and maybe we're going to get, maybe things will get done there. Because the councils on the other side, Dublin City Council had land for a long long time. Tiffany Gardens and you name it, nothing happened there for a decade. So we do need people to get things moving and maybe the other side of this story which I haven't heard is that people are anxious to get things moving here and that we could have a thousand houses much faster than otherwise would be the case. I don't know the specifics of it but I will follow it up.