Associations representing more than 900 city and county councillors have demanded that proposals to strip power from elected local representatives in favour of the Land Development Agency (LDA) be scrapped. Cllr Mary Hoade, president of AILG, said she was “angered” by proposals in the Bill to remove reserved powers from councillors when it came to the disposal of land. She said the Government must continue to ensure the primacy of local authorities in being the lead provider of social and affordable housing. He said there was merit in the LDA Bill in terms of collating all the data and creating a masterplan. In operation since 2018, but as yet without statutory powers, its purpose is to drive strategic land assembly and utilise State and public lands to build social and affordable homes.

Source: The Irish Times May 11, 2021 16:41 UTC