Ms Clare McGrath:

When we started out, we looked at this issue in terms of resourcing and our management of it. We also looked at our ability to manage such a number of pilot projects. When we began to make progress on the pilot projects, we decided that their better management would be facilitated by moving forward on four projects. Additionally, we identified local authorities that would be in a position to manage these projects externally to complement our external and internal management of them. We were satisfied that they would bring forward the benefits of learning from the pilot projects. From the beginning, the River Lee project was the one from which twe saw the most coming. It was clear from the ranking of pilot projects that it would provide us with the full gamut and range of lessons. The others provided lessons from different perspectives.