Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will make two points on the negotiations that must take place. Many local authorities have lost some of the staff that would have been on temporary contracts and so on. When developers are coming in and negotiating, there is a particular skillset that is not always available at local authority level. The Minister might give us some assurances that there would be a beefing up of that expertise, particularly when it comes to negotiating rental agreements. I am not at all happy that the Part V mechanism will not be indefinitely in the ownership of the local authority; I do not want to give the wrong impression in that regard. However, should the Minister find a local authority in that position, where it is dealing with an experienced negotiator, and the construction industry is not short of an ability to lobby to ensure its own interests are properly served, it will be critically important in terms of the delivery mechanism that there is both expertise and an adequate number of staff to deal with that in an efficient way.