Mr. John McCarthy:

It is 700 in local authority ownership. It does make a first step at mapping I think approximately 30 other State-owned properties, but the 700 are local authority ones. We wanted that as a baseline so that if we got applications in from local authorities to borrow money for land, we would be able to say, "You've either got this land or you don't." That has been hugely important. We have not had a significant demand for land loans. I do not want to say we are open for business - that is not it - but if a local authority was to come to us we would certainly look at it. I think in the Deputy's own county we did actually approve a land loan earlier on this year. I am not sure that it has actually been drawn down yet, but it has been approved.

The Deputy could count on the fingers of one hand the number of loan applications that have come our way in the last number of years. I suppose we would really look at it on a local-authority-by-local-authority basis. We do it as part of the engagement we have with local authorities on their social housing programme because as we look forward for what they plan to deliver in the next three or four years, one of the questions that we absolutely engage with them on is asking where the land to deliver those sorts of units is so that we are planning forward.