Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 September 2026
364. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the construction cost of building one, two, three, four bed homes on publicly owned land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67150/26]
View answerInformation on the total number of publicly owned residential sites is not held or collated by my Department.
With regard to residential land held by local authorities, local authorities are entirely independent corporate entities having full responsibility under law for the performance of their functions and the discharge of their governance and other responsibilities, including the use of land.
The Land Development Agency (LDA) carries out certain functions regarding State owned relevant public land. Relevant public land is land owned by a relevant public body, being a local authority, Government Minister or state body listed in Schedule 1 and 2 of the Act, within a town the population of which is equal to or greater than 10,000 persons at the last Census.
In accordance with the Land Development Agency Act 2021, the LDA maintains a Register of Relevant Lands (lda.ie/public-lands/register-of-relevant-lands) which includes information on current use and any vacant status thereof, and furnishes to Government, at two yearly intervals, a Report on Relevant Public Land (lda.ie/public-lands/report-on-relevant-lands).
The most recent Report on Relevant Public Lands, published in 2025, identifies a total of 102 parcels of relevant public land as having potential to deliver housing-led development.
Some of the sites identified may be suitable to progress to design and planning, and early transfer for housing delivery, subject to achieving statutory consents and agreement with landholding bodies.
Other sites may be more complex and/or in operational use. If suitable and prioritised, these sites may require further inputs, such as master planning, enabling works, relocation of existing operations, before applications for statutory consents or development.
Finally, my Department publishes the Total Development Cost report on an annual basis, which includes construction costs for typical dwellings. The 2025 Total Development Cost Report is available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/publications/insights-into-total-development-costs-2025/.
