New agency ‘land grab’

In a bid to make better use of state owned land, the ROI government is on its way towards establishing the Land Development Agency on a permanent footing. The enactment of primary legislation is pending to establish it as a commercial State agency.

The Irish Independent reports that the agency will have the power to enforce Compulsory Purchase Orders. Deputy Nolan raised concerns that the CPOs could amount to a “land grab” saying that “it would certainly undermine and endanger any efforts to maintain financial viability through farm expansion”.

Meanwhile, Social Democrats housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan said the proposal would lead to the “privatisation of public land through the backdoor”, driving up costs of building homes on public land.