22 minute read
Land Development Agency Chief Executive John Coleman discusses Project Tosaigh
Accelerating the delivery of new affordable homes
John Coleman, Chief Executive of the Land Development Agency (LDA), speaks to eolas about the LDA’s growth, its plans for 2022 and the hopes of building over 5,000 new affordable and cost rental homes under Project Tosaigh.
Coleman begins by tracking the progress of the LDA since its foundation on an interim basis in 2018: “We started off with no staff, no office, no infrastructure, and we have built a reasonably good platform now where we have advanced to 60 staff, and we have advanced sites through the various stages of the development process with the aim of starting construction for 862 homes in 2022.”
With a broader portfolio of roughly 5,000 homes, the LDA are advancing their process on state and local authority lands in partnership with local authorities. They have also targeted a separate 5,000 homes through Project Tosaigh, which “expands and accelerates our ambitions in the affordable space”, Coleman says.
“We have increased the site portfolio significantly; at launch we had promises of sites that could yield around 3,000 homes, and between Project Tosaigh, our current developments and land transfers under Housing for All (HfA), we think that site capacity is now around 25,000,” Coleman says. “The LDA was set up in the first place as a land assembler longer-term and between HfA land transfer announcements and active areas, which are focused on design, master planning and problem solving around infrastructure, we have three strategic areas in our portfolio: Limerick Colbert Station, Sandy Road in Galway, and the Digital Hub in Dublin, with more planned in the future.”
In the short term, the LDA is focused on the delivery of affordable and cost rental housing on state lands; their longer-term plans consist of land assembly and the coherent delivery of larger scale strategic areas for sustainable development and regeneration. Coleman details their 2022 plans, where it is hoped that two development projects will progress to site, and five planning
applications to deliver almost 3,000 homes will be lodged. The LDA’s hope is that some of these plans will have started construction by 2024. It plans on commencing two strategic area masterplans, in Inchicore and the Digital Hub, which has been transferred to the LDA, later this year. Through Project Tosaigh strategic partnerships, the LDA plans to deliver “about” 5,000 homes over the term of the initiative, from 2022 to 2026.
Planning activity in Dundrum, Balbriggan, Skerries and Devoy covers roughly 2,400 homes, once lodged this will be followed by St Theresa’s Gardens. Design teams are at work on Cherry Orchard and Cromcastle, to be built in partnership with Dublin City Council, and Dyke Road in partnership with Galway City Council.
“This is an emerging theme; we have very close working relationships with local authorities which are critical to the LDA’s work,” Coleman says.
Work in Shanganagh in south Dublin “should” commence later this year, with construction tender returns being evaluated at the moment. When completed, the project will deliver 597 social and affordable BER A-rated homes, 306 of which will be cost rental. The St Kevin’s site in Cork, currently going through prequalification for the construction tender, will commence enabling work this year on a scheme that will deliver 264 homes.
These are not the only projects in the LDA’s sights: “There are 10 sites that are that can yield about 5,000 homes across Dublin, Mullingar, Naas, Galway, Limerick and Cork, depending on what we can get through the planning system,” Coleman says.
Delivering these houses comes with a total focus on affordable housing, Coleman says, a focus that has been a significant shift since the current government took office. “What that looks like to us is that we are trying to roughly land at one-third of a person’s net income,” he says. “In terms of the market in a place like Shanganagh, that means a 25-30 per cent reduction on market rates. There are good discounts compared to the market, but we are focused on affordability rather than pegging ourselves to the market.
“We think about this in terms of deciles of income; we are not there to target the ninth and tenth deciles, we think they can cover their own costs, and we are not targeting those who qualify for social housing either, it is those that are squeezed in the middle that do not qualify for anything.”
With its mandate on state lands, Coleman estimates that the LDA could deliver 2,500 homes by 2026, but instead is looking to treble this target by engaging in Project Tosaigh and leveraging the private sector to bring its land into the affordable housing net. “In Housing for All, we had a number of empowerments, including increased spending capacity because of the increased debt ceiling that has been allocated to the LDA, we have a number of additional lands that will look at the land assembly section of the LDA, but most significant was the launch of Project Tosaigh,” Coleman says.
“We are targeting working in partnership with house builders that have the ability to deliver at scale and that have access to land by way of funding arrangements and contracting arrangements to secure 5,000 homes over a four-year period. We are targeting delivery as early as 2022. 5,000 over four years is possible; we think we will have a bias towards cost rental and when the dust settles on the various proposals that is where a lot of them will land. The current process is based on forward purchase agreements, which is a commitment to purchase at a certain price point in the future, but we will be interested in the future in bringing forward more innovative procurement methodologies to facilitate other types of arrangements with builders and delivery partners.”
Concluding, Coleman focuses on the LDA’s strengths and how they can work with other partners in affordable housing delivery: “The strengths of the LDA are delivery, capability, and a project management platform. We have the legislative mandate to open up state lands. Typically, state lands are under some other use such as train stations etcetera, but local authorities have land for housing and that is why they are such a critical partner in our delivery trajectory. The LDA has no track record in operating or delivering to the client aside from the emerging construction side of things, the AHBs have a credibility and trust in terms of that delivery and there is really strong potential for that to be levered to everyone’s benefit into the future.”
Affordable purchase and cost rental: The role of The Housing Agency
Housing Agency CEO, Bob Jordan.
Significant work is underway to deliver affordable housing at scale. The Affordable Housing Act 2021 represents the first standalone affordable housing legislation in Ireland, while Housing for All, the Government's new housing plan for Ireland, outlines a commitment to supporting homeownership and increasing affordability. Bob Jordan, CEO of The Housing Agency, discusses two key means by which these objectives will be achieved: affordable purchase and cost rental.
Government policy is committed to making available housing that is affordable for households across a wide range of income groups. The Affordable Housing Act 2021 provides for two affordable purchase schemes. These seek to address the affordability gap that exists for moderate income households who are constrained from accessing sufficient finance to purchase homes at open market prices.
Primarily aimed at first time buyers, the
Figure 1 two new options are summarised in Figure 1.
The Local Authority-led Affordable Dwelling Purchase Arrangement will allow local authorities with affordability issues to offer homes for sale. Affordable homes will be developed by local authorities or in partnership with approved housing bodies (housing associations), the Land Development Agency and housing developers. The discount from the open market value will be achieved by a combination of lowcost land and other specific State funding. The local authority will hold an equity share equal to the percentage discount on the open market value and the affordable homes will be offered for sale to eligible households.
“We know that the current mortgage lending rules, three-and-a-half times an individual or couple’s gross annual income, does not bring some people far enough up to be able to buy a property on the open market, so the idea of the equity share is to bridge that gap,” Jordan says. “The idea is to enable firsttime buyers to enter the market and to enable local authorities to produce homes at a price people can afford in their own area, at least 15 per cent below the purchase price on the open market.”
The First Home national shared equity scheme will be operated in cooperation with participating banks. Eligible purchasers will be able to buy new homes for sale on the open market that are below the relevant location-based price caps. An equity share will be available to an eligible purchaser where there is a shortfall between their mortgage capacity and the new home price. The equity share will be owned by a special purpose vehicle jointly funded and overseen by the participating banks and the State. The equity share can be bought out at any time and an annual charge will apply after year five to the equity share value.
An example of how the shared equity schemes will work can be seen in Figure 2.
Cost rental
Home ownership can often be the focus for affordable housing. However, a key element of achieving affordable housing in many countries is the development of a cost rental sector. Over time, this approach can provide a significant amount of housing that offers a more affordable option to many households. It is a more sustainable rental model where homes and rental income flows can be used to leverage further investment. The Act contains provisions to facilitate delivery of cost rental housing which will be developed mainly by local authorities, approved housing bodies and the Land Development Agency. The establishment of the cost rental model is intended to promote an increased supply of affordable rental homes in areas where there is a high demand for housing. The Housing Agency has been central to developing a vision for cost rental in Ireland. We promoted the concept to policymakers in the Irish housing sector when we cohosted an exhibition on the Vienna model of cost rental with Dublin City Council in 2019.
“Cost rental is hugely important, as it might well represent a once in a generation oppportunity to introduce a new form of tenure in Ireland,” Jordan says. “Back in 2004, NESC recommended the introduction of cost rental in Ireland, so this has been a long journey. What makes cost rental different is that it’s about rents based on the costs of construction, management and maintenance of the house. The idea is obviously that those rents would be far less than the market rents and would certainly be starting out at 25 per cent below market.
“It’s a success story all over Europe. The idea is that delivering cost rental at scale will have a moderating effect on overall market rents. Recently the Housing Agency and Housing Europe produced a study of three countries where it has been very successful: Austria, Denmark, and Finland. In those countries there’s a very large stock of cost rental accommodation: 17 per cent in Austria, and 20 per cent in both Denmark and Finland. These are very successful examples from which we have a lot to learn.”
The overall aim is to have homes available for rent at levels that are substantially below market rent while sufficient to meet the financing and ongoing management and maintenance costs for the owner. The Minister for
Overview of the Enniskerry Road Cost Rental housing scheme. In September 2021 the applications process began for 50 purpose-built cost rental homes at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, Dublin. These cost rental homes will be managed by Respond and Tuath Housing and are being delivered on land provided by The Housing Agency under the land aggregation scheme.
Figure 2
Housing has approved Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) funding for the initial cost rental homes to be delivered by approved housing bodies over the next year. The Housing Agency is playing a key role here by providing the CREL funding as a secondary loan for 30 per cent of the capital cost, with the Housing Finance Agency funding the balance of 70 per cent. The Housing Agency is also facilitating the delivery of cost rental homes by two approved housing bodies, Respond and Tuath, on public land, in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Homes must be designated as cost rental dwellings for a minimum period of 40 years with rents calculated to cover the cost of housing delivery, finance, management and long-term maintenance. income eligibility criteria. They will be provided unfurnished, although they will be comparable to private rental homes in all other respects.
The new legislation now in place will drive the delivery of affordable homes for purchase and to rent.
Jordan concludes: “There is a strong government commitment to increasing capacity and expertise in the housing sector. We’re building public confidence and understanding, bringing in new providers. We at The Housing Agency are excited to be playing our part in this journey.”
T: 01 656 4100 E: communications@housingagency.ie W: www.housingagency.ie
Credit: Réseau de Transport d’Électricité
The revised National Development Plan (NDP) published in October 2021 will invest €165 billion in Irish infrastructure over its lifetime. eolas outlines the major projects within the plan, and what is expected to be delivered in 2022.
In 2022, Ireland’s total capital expenditure will rise to €14 billion from 2021’s €12.7 billion. Core exchequer investment as a share of GNI* will rise to 4.8 per cent from 2021’s level of 4.5 per cent, totalling €11.1 billion, with non-exchequer funding accounting for the remaining €2.9 billion. This rise in exchequer funding represents an increase of €1.3 billion from 2021. Housing, transport, and health will be the bestfunded sectors of the year, receiving €3.4 billion, €2.5 billion, and €1.01 billion in gross voted capital allocations respectively.
Cost categories for projects within the NDP range from A (€20 million-€50 million) to F (over €1 billion). There are five projects mentioned in the revised NDP with cost category F status: the protection and renewal of national roads; the National Broadband Plan; MetroLink; the Celtic Interconnector; and the Western Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region.
National Broadband Plan
The rollout of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) commenced in 2020, with delivery planned to be completed by 2027. The plan seeks to connect over 544,000 premises not covered by commercial operators with high-speed broadband, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms and 700 schools. In the 2010s, it was mooted that the NDP would cost an estimated €500 million but by 2019 National Broadband Ireland won the tender for a €3 billion contract. pandemic had “impacted the rollout of the NBP in the first half of the year”, but that rollout had “picked up the pace in the second half of 2021 and some 54,000 premises will be available for order or pre-order at year end”. More than 1,200 orders had been placed, with premises pending connection, at the time of the update. 4,600 premises had been connected to the network up to that point.
282,000 premises have also been surveyed, with 232,000 designs received and construction begun on 150,000 premises. While localities wait for broadband to be delivered to their homes, 262 Broadband Connection Points (BCPs), wireless connectivity hubs in communities awaiting rollout, have been installed and are ready for connection, with 234 of these live on the high-speed network.
Celtic Interconnector
The Celtic Interconnector is the proposed 700MW electricity interconnector between Brittany, France and east Cork, which will have an annual transmission capacity of 6.1 TWh. The project, which is being developed by Ireland’s Transmission System Operator, EirGrid and France’s Réseau de Transporte d’Électricité, is expected to be completed in 2026 and will be Ireland’s largest electricity interconnector.
Following on from Brexit, the successful connection of the project will allow Ireland to once again have direct electricity interconnection with the remainder of the EU Internal Energy Market and enhance “market competition and security of electricity supply, to the benefit of Irish and French
electricity customers”. It will also allow Ireland to provide direct export of its surplus renewable energy to Europe, along with a reduction in curtailment of wind generation in Ireland.
Water Supply Project –Eastern and Midlands Region
The Water Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region (WSP-EMR) will abstract water from the lower River Shannon at Parteen Basin in Tipperary, with water treatment at Birdhill, and carry the water to a reservoir in Peamount, Dublin in order to connect water supply to the Greater Dublin Area and other areas such as Newport, Borrisokane, Mullingar, Portlaoise, Navan, Drogheda and more. The project is currently in the pre-planning and design stage, with both the over €1 billion estimated cost and the estimated completion date of 2030 offered with the caveats that they are preliminary and will be “reviewed and refreshed as the project progresses through the planning and procurement processes”.
The project, which will “meet the future water supply needs for housing, commercial and industrial growth in an area comprising 40 per cent of Ireland’s population”, is said in the NDP to have already gone through non-statutory public consultation, with further statutory public consultation to take place before it is submitted to An Bord Pleanála for planning permission.
NDP actions due for completion in 2022
• Finalisation of recommendations by Public Private Partnership Steering Group on existing treatment of
PPPs by end of Q2 • Development of a new National Cycling Network Strategy by year-end • Opening of greenways financed under the Strategy for the Future Development of National and Regional
Greenways to begin and continue until 2024 • Issuance of the final report of the Strategic Rail Review • Construction of the N5 Westport to Turlough road, to be completed in Q4 • Fishery development projects in Castletownbere, Howth and Killybegs all “to be complete in early 2022” • New Seafood Development Programme 2021-2027 to launch with €142 million EU funding • New specialist marine vessel commissioned by the Marine Institute to be fully operational by autumn • The majority of the 200 school building projects built under the Department of Education’s school building programme to be completed • Announcement of successful projects under the Energy Efficiency and Decarbonisation Pathfinder
Programme, due in Q1 • The entering into service of the new Dublin Airport runway • Capacity extension at Shannon Foynes and completion of the Alexander Basin redevelopment • €202 million of carbon tax revenue to fund the SEAI’s residential and community retrofit schemes
Sustainability and climate action at the heart of key NDP-funded OPW projects
The Office of Public Works (OPW) has one of the largest and most diverse property portfolios in the State, including over 2,000 buildings that range from some of the most recognisable properties in the country, such as Dublin Castle or Leinster House, to Garda stations and government offices. The OPW also has a lead role in managing flood risk and providing project management expertise to a number of client departments and agencies.
The breadth of the organisation’s responsibilities is reflected in the number, nature and scale of the projects that fall to it to deliver under the National Development Plan (NDP) covering the period 2021-2030.
When the NDP was published last autumn, Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works Patrick O’Donovan TD noted that the OPW would be managing projects and programmes to the value of €4 billion through its own vote and on an agency basis on behalf of clients. The Minister also highlighted the OPW’s evolving role as a leader in the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon, resourceefficient economy. He noted that a key objective for the OPW, in delivering important public infrastructure under the NDP, was to “advance sustainable solutions that mitigate against the effects of climate change”.
The investment of some €4 billion represents a doubling in value of the existing level of capital investments within the remit of the OPW. This will present a significant challenge to the organisation’s capacity and Minister O’Donovan explained that, as well as actively engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on resourcing project delivery under the NDP, the organisation has also taken a number of important initiatives to “gearup” for this challenge. Within the overall framework of the Civil Service Renewal Programme (CSR 2030), the OPW has streamlined its organisational structures, improved its project governance arrangements, invested in upskilling its workforce and embraced a number of ICT initiatives to improve organisational productivity.
As a result, the Minister has expressed his full confidence that the OPW is wellpositioned to deliver on its commitments under the NDP, in a manner that is fully aligned with the Government’s policies on climate action and sustainability. In this context, the overall purpose of the €1 billion investment earmarked for the Flood Risk Management area involves works to protect communities across Ireland from the impacts of climate change through future-proofed, adaptable flood risk management schemes.
The OPW will be investing a further €1.4 billion in State properties that will support key climate action targets by increasing the energy efficiency of the State’s office accommodation portfolio. Office accommodation investment will also involve the creation of more agile, digitally enabled, and predominantly open plan working environments. They will incorporate more collaborative spaces and significantly reduce the use of cellular offices so as to facilitate the evolving operational requirements of government departments.
This investment includes works to heritage sites nationwide to protect and promote the State’s built and archaeological heritage through sensitive conservation, refurbishment and animation for the enjoyment of current and future generations.
The balance of around €1.6 billion will involve the OPW in managing a wide range of projects for client departments and agencies. Investment will include
works to major cultural institutions, a large infrastructure project at Rosslare Europort, and a new Forensic Science Laboratory in the Backweston Campus in County Kildare. Under the Garda Capital Programme a significant number of projects will be delivered, including the Military Road complex in Dublin. Investment in some heritage sites will be co-funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media, through Fáilte Ireland.
Flood risk management
schemes (€1 billion)
Communities threatened from river and coastal flood risk will see investment in some 150 flood relief schemes progressed over the lifetime of the NDP, protecting approximately 23,000 properties.
All flood relief schemes are designed to be adaptable to the impacts of climate change scenarios, including identifying locations in the scheme’s contributing catchment where there may be opportunities to implement Natural Water Retention Measures. These can comprise a broad range of multifunctioning measures that use natural processes and features to reduce flood risk, improve water quality and create habitats.
The largest flood relief investment project ever proposed in Ireland is the Lower Lee Flood Relief Scheme, representing over €140 million of investment for Cork City. It will protect 2,100 properties from tidal and fluvial flooding.
Investment in the OPW
Estate (€1.4 billion)
The investment will:
• address EU and Government climate change obligations to significantly reduce the estate’s carbon footprint through investment in new builds (€300 million),
Property Obsolescence Programme, covering building fabric, energy and systems upgrades (€440 million);
• fit-out of accommodation (€100 million);
• meet a range of complementary objectives within the Heritage Estate (€200 million) for the conservation and presentation of historic buildings and sites, including collaboration with Fáilte Ireland for co-funding of particular projects under the Tourism Investment
Programme; • meet obligations under the
Convention Centre Dublin Public
Private Partnership Agreement (€250 million); and
• facilitate property acquisitions and disbursement of grants (€80 million).
future-proofed Flood Relief Schemes
Increasing the energy efficiencyof the State’s Property
conserving our Built and Natural Heritage
from flood risk in 150 schemes
by the LowerLee Flood ReliefSchemewith an investment ofover €140m
RiverLee scheme is the largest flood relief investment project ever proposed in Ireland
€986 million
€440 million to decarbonise and increase energy efficiencyofState offices by 50%
€300 million on new build projects including Hawkins House, Leeson Lane and Backweston Data Centre
€100 million on office fit-outs
€840 million
€40m investedin the Tourism Investment Programmeto improve
visitorinfrastructure and
theStateowned heritage estatewith €40mfor the Phoenix Park and €20m in Dublin Castleforthe benefit ofvisitors
€200 million
The OPW will oversee the construction of major new energy efficient office developments on the site of the old Hawkins House, on Leeson Lane and a shared Government Data Centre at the Backweston Campus in County Kildare. The shared Government Data Centre will be fitted with connections that will allow it to be powered by renewable energy from a potential future solar farm on site, and will facilitate the decommissioning of existing facilities that are much less energy efficient and are no longer fit for purpose.
A flagship project under the Energy Retrofit Programme is the refurbishment of Tom Johnson House in Dublin, which was constructed in the 1970s. The works undertaken will extend the useful life of the building and transform it into an exemplary, energy-efficient headquarters for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. A 75 per cent reduction of annual energy use will be achieved and most of the cost of around €50 million will be met from the EU’s National Recovery and Resilience Fund (NRRP).
Investment in the Heritage Estate will enable the OPW to commence the implementation of Master Plans for the Phoenix Park and Dublin Castle to meet the twin objectives of improving accessibility to, and enhancing the visitor experience at both locations. Some of the key infrastructural works to improve accessibility to the park include creating new and upgrading existing cycling and walking routes and road improvement works.
Restoration and upgrade works at the Magazine Fort and Phoenix Park Visitor Centre will also be undertaken to further improve the visitor experience at the park.
Investment in Dublin Castle will build on the recent redevelopment of the medieval Record Tower and the planned refurbishment of the visitor reception. Some of the key elements of the Masterplan for Dublin Castle will include:
• a new interpretation space, in the
East Cross-Block, will tell the story of the building during the revolutionary period, from 1916 to 1922;
• upgrading the public realm, particularly the Lower Castle Yard to enhance the accessibility of the site to all visitors; and
• a new museum space will tell the 800-year history of Dublin Castle through objects in the OPW’s collection, archaeological finds from the site and long-term loans from other national cultural institutions.
T: (046) 942 2000 E: info@opw.ie W: www.gov.ie/opw
