Transforming underutilised land to create thriving new communities

As its housing output increases, the LDA remains focused on delivering the right type of homes in the right places.

The Land Development Agency (LDA) is on course to become Ireland’s largest homebuilder by 2028 and by 2031 the Agency is targeting an annual direct delivery output of close to 4,000 homes a year.

This updated forecast was issued at the LDA’s recent sod-turning event to mark the start of construction on 542 new affordable and social homes at Donore Project in Dublin 8.

Like all LDA targets, this one is ambitious but must be achieved given the pressing need for increased housing supply and the requirement for the LDA to continue to play a significant role in helping to address this urgent issue.

The predicted figures serve to illustrate the full extent of its ongoing activity and growing project pipeline while the developments involved highlight the Agency’s emphasis on using government funding to deliver the right homes in the right places, creating sustainable new communities and enhancing existing ones.

The LDA has two key delivery channels and both are performing strongly. The first is the direct delivery of new homes on state-owned or acquired land, and the second involves partnering with homebuilders to deliver affordable homes on their sites.

The direct delivery channel includes transfers of state-owned land, acquisitions of land from the private market or the use of land owned by local authorities as part of joint projects. Significant progress is being made in each of these categories.

In total, there are over 10,000 homes on 19 direct delivery sites in the planning or construction phase, with a further 5,000 homes scheduled for delivery on land to be acquired in the coming months and years.

The LDA’s existing pipeline includes land transferred by the ESB in Wilton in Cork and by Teagasc in Kinsealy in Dublin in addition to land acquired by the LDA at the Royal Liver site on the Naas Road in Dublin 12. The recent agreement between the LDA and Horse Racing Ireland to transfer a site at Leopardstown Racecourse in south Dublin, will add to that pipeline, as it has the potential to deliver 800 homes.

The LDA’s activity includes joint partnerships with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in Shanganagh in Dublin, Limerick City and County Council in Mungret and with Dublin City Council at Bluebell Waterways in Dublin 12, Cherry Orchard Point in west Dublin, Cromcastle in Dublin 5 and Donore Project in Dubin 8.

Marina Depot, Cork – a development of 337 affordable homes being delivered by the Land Development Agency in partnership with Glenveagh Properties.

Many of the sites involved are substantial in size and have the potential to not only deliver new homes and new communities, but to transform entire areas through the provision of new facilities and amenities.

A good example of the LDA’s strategic and regenerative approach to sustainable housing delivery is the recent purchase of two neighbouring land parcels in north Dublin.

In December 2023, the Agency announced the acquisition of over 13 hectares of land in Clongriffin with existing planning permission for 1,800 homes and the potential to deliver a total of over 2,300.

In March 2025, it completed the purchase of 18 hectares in neighbouring Baldoyle with existing planning permission for over 1,900 homes.

The sites are located beside each other next to Clongriffin railway station. They are also located beside existing housing and in a developing community which urgently needs, and will benefit from, new facilities and amenities.

Both sites were due to be developed by private developers, but these projects were delayed for many years until the LDA stepped in.

Now, construction has already started on the first phase delivery of over 400 apartments in Clongriffin with further progress due to be announced soon. As part of its ongoing plans, the LDA is working closely with partners, stakeholders and locals to deliver an integrated plan for the entire area that will include the provision of new retail and commercial outlets in addition to improved access to the railway station, green areas and shared spaces.

This transformative and collaborative approach is also being applied when it comes to joint projects with local authorities. Donore Project, which was mentioned earlier, is a strong example of what can be achieved by the LDA when its expertise and ability to deliver to a high-standard and at scale is combined with the local knowledge and on-the-ground experience of a city or county council.

This new housing development is being built in partnership with Dublin City Council on the former St Teresa’s Gardens site off Donore Avenue in the heart of Dublin’s south inner city and will deliver 389 cost rental and 153 social housing apartments.

Once complete, it will include a new crèche, community spaces, a café/retail unit, mobility hub, a new home for Donore Boxing Club and a municipal sports pitch.

A similar strategic approach is being applied as part of the LDA’s homebuilder partnerships. This delivery channel utilises the Project Tosaigh initiative, in which the LDA works with private developers to provide the financial impetus needed to get projects underway and ensure their completion. The homes are then either sold at affordable prices in partnership with local authorities using shared equity schemes or made available by the LDA as cost rental, with rents at least 25 per cent below market rates for eligible households.

So far, the Agency has already delivered over 1,700 Project Tosaigh homes with a further 2,500 contracted and another 1,500 being negotiated. In total, the LDA is aiming to have delivered over 11,000 Project Tosaigh homes by 2031.

The effectiveness of this delivery channel was clearly demonstrated during a recent event in Cork where Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD and Minister for Housing James Browne TD visited two Project Tosaigh developments which are playing a central role in the transformation of the Docklands area of the city.

At Marina Depot in Cork’s South Docks, the LDA is delivering 337 new cost rental apartments in partnership with Glenveagh Properties. At Horgan’s Quay on the North Docks, the Agency is working with HQ Developments to deliver 302.

The Marina Depot project has effectively kickstarted a wider Glenveagh development that will ultimately include nearly 1,200 homes at the site. Meanwhile the development at Horgan’s Quay was effectively stalled due to viability concerns before the LDA’s involvement.

Both projects are central to the redevelopment of the Cork Docklands area and involve the LDA working closely with Cork City Council to provide new places for people to live and work in what is a prime riverside location.

Once complete, they will serve as leading examples of LDA delivery, providing much-needed homes, but also inspiring and assisting the wider regeneration of high potential areas.

They will also form part of a wider delivery pipeline involving a growing number of projects that can and will continue to make a significant impact on the country’s overall housing need.

W: www.lda.ie