Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask about the four-stage approval process. As our guests will be aware, many people in AHBs and local authorities, and people who work in the construction sector more broadly, are very frustrated by, and critical of, that process. They consider it to be bureaucratic and think it frustrates delivery. Some people working in the construction sector have said to me that it leads to some of the AHBs only going down the route of acquisitions and purchases because they find the whole process of trying to get land and go through the approval process too difficult. Will our guests give us their insight as to why it is necessary? Is the idea that it should be reviewed legitimate? Is there merit in that? Would our guests be strongly opposed to that? Perhaps they could give us their views on this issue. It comes up constantly from a range of sources. We would benefit from hearing the views and insights of our guests in that regard.