PQ Response- LDA staffing costs, consultant contracts & office leasing

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For Written Answer on : 24/02/2021
Question Number(s): 285 Question Reference(s): 9421/21
Department: Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Asked by: Eoin Ó Broin T.D.
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QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage if information (details supplied) will be provided  in relation to the Land Development Agency. (Details Supplied) d/s the number of staff currently employed by the LDA, their grades and the total annual cost of salaries; the number of consultants employed by the DLA, the length of their contracts, the nature of the work, the cost of the contracts to date; the number of offices used by the LDA, their location and annual lease cost;

REPLY

The Land Development Agency (LDA) was established on an interim basis in September 2018, by way of an Establishment Order made under the Local Government Services (Corporate Bodies) Act 1971, pending the enactment of primary legislation when it will be established as a commercial State agency. 

The day to day management of the LDA is matter for the LDA Chief Executive and his management team reporting to the LDA Interim Board. Under its Establishment Order, the LDA may appoint such and so many persons to be employees as it may determine. The LDA reports on its salary and consultancy costs in its annual financial statements in accordance with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies. The LDA's 2019 Annual Report, including its financial statements, is published on its website and covers the period from September 2018 to end December 2019.

In addition, as with all State bodies operating under the aegis of my Department, arrangements have been put in place by the LDA through which Oireachtas members can request information directly from the Agency in relation to operational matters - in this regard, the LDA may be contacted directly at oireachtas@lda.ie.

In order to be of assistance to the Deputy, on the basis of information provided by the LDA to my Department, I can indicate that the LDA currently has 43 staff, including 3 staff seconded from other State bodies.  It is currently actively recruiting further staff and expects to have 50 staff by the end of 2021. It will have skilled staff in the areas of finance, investment appraisal, investment management, legal, procurement and property development (i.e. quantity surveyors, engineers, planners, architects etc) along with corporate and compliance support roles.  The LDA does not operate a grading system. Contracts are agreed with employees following a competitive hiring process. The LDA spend on salary costs for the period September 2018 to January 2021 is approximately €3.5 million.

As with any other body responsible for developing large scale projects, the LDA requires professional and technical advisors and these services are tendered for in line with public procurement processes. Public tenders vary in length and do not guarantee any award of services or expenditure until contracts are negotiated. Examples of professional services tendered to date by the LDA include Legal, Architect Lead Design, Project Management, HR, Procurement, Corporate Advisory, Communications.

To date professional fees incurred by the LDA on projects are predominantly planning and design fees and project management fees as the LDA conducts feasibility and design work on their portfolio of sites. The total spend across sites since September 2018 is in the region of €6 million.  For the same period, corporate professional fees, including procurement fees, communications, recruitment, IT and legal, of approximately €1.7 million have also been paid to date.

The LDA currently leases office space in Ashford House, Tara Street, Dublin 2. The annual rent is €248,000 (ex VAT) with an annual service  charge of €40,000 (ex VAT).  Limerick City and County Council made accommodation available to one agency employee based in Limerick for a period, for which no rent was paid by the LDA. Due to Covid restrictions, all LDA staff work remotely.