"Left out of lobbying law the LDA is in the sights of speculators"

That’s according to Limerick People Before Profit representative Ruairí Fahy following the release of documents to him following a Freedom of Information request.

In the documents it is revealed that a call was arranged between Factory_OS, “a relatively new organisation in the US manufacturing and building modular [homes]”, and the LDA by “a contact of John Coleman [LDA CEO] in Citi”

The company “Factory_OS” was founded in 2017 with Citi providing investment across both Series A and Series B rounds where the company raised $77 million.

In a document summarising their Environmental, Sustainability, Governance (ESG) investments Citi describes why they invested in the company, “We invested in Factory OS, a new company located in Vallejo, California, which employs a diverse group of mostly new immigrant workers to build the housing units… Factory OS is revolutionizing home construction using state of the art technology to build multi-family modular buildings.” In the document they also outline the method by which they could extend loans to the project developer to place a deposit with Factory_OS as well as package up the debt from public housing projects to be resold on financial markets.

During the time when an employee of Citi was scheduling meetings with the LDA, Citi filed no returns to the lobbying register.

This is unsurprising though as the LDA, nor its officials are currently subject to the lobbying act.

As housing spokesperson for Fianna Fáil in opposition during the last Dáil, Darragh O’Brien, now housing minister stated “It's not acceptable that they're not on the lobbying register. If it requires an amendment to the legislation to make it so then I will bring it forward, we need transparency - the LDA don't get to decide how they're going to operate.”

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to “extend the lobbying register so that the lobbying of senior officials in bodies like the Central Bank of Ireland, ComReg, the NTA and the HSE, which have significant policymaking or development functions, will need to be reported on the same basis as central and local Government.”

In response to a written question from Sinn Féin TD for Dublin West, Eoin Ó Broin, on whether members of staff and the board of the LDA would become subject to the lobbying act under the promised legislation, then Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath stated “The positions of senior officials in the Land Development Agency, along with those in other public sector bodies, will be considered as part of this work as regards whether such individuals should be prescribed as designated public officials under the Act.

With 18 months left before a general election must be held there has been no signs that this commitment will be reached.

In response to the revelations Mr. Fahy said, “the LDA say they operate on the principle of ‘One Person, One Salary’ but when there is no way for the public to know when members of the board or senior officials are being lobbied by private corporations.

“There are suggestions that €6 billion will be made available to the LDA from a ‘sovereign wealth fund’ but without proper public oversight this could be treated as a personal slush fund by officials to give out to companies in exchange for lucrative contracts after they leave the LDA.

“There is already a reported increase in public bodies not abiding by Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Access requests which needs to be reversed — public money should be under democratic, public control, not at the whims of politically appointed administrators.”