Use Nama land to build new homes

A new drive to use prime Nama land banks for the building of tens of thousands of affordable homes for first-time buyers has been urged in order to head-off a property bubble.

Chairman of the influential Oireachtas finance committee, Ciarán Lynch, called for a strategic partnership between the Government, the agency and local authorities to boost the economy and alleviate the housing crisis.

Nama estimates that land in the Dublin region could provide for 25,000 dwellings in the next five years, and as it would not require a minimum rate of return on developments, that scope is wider than other potential developments.