Mr. Niall Cussen:

That is not the case. It is absolutely the case that we want to ensure the Land Development Agency will assist and enable the work of the local authorities in carrying out their various housing functions and that it will not add operational or other complexity. Let us come back to the fundamental function of the Land Development Agency. In effect it is about broadening the supply of delivery options for development in the broadest sense, as well as housing, beyond what is available in the market and to local authorities. From a policy point of view and in terms of how we build the legislation, it will be very much about dovetailing with the systems and processes in place. We know that they are continually being enhanced and improved in the approval of social housing delivery programmes more generally. From the point of view of the Department's policy, it is absolutely the case that we do not want the Land Development Agency to add in any shape or form to the burden local authorities already have to handle in the context of their statutory functions and EU requirements and directives on procurement and so on. We actually want to assist.