Mr. Conn Murray:

Apologies. I misunderstood. In terms of the policy that we work under, all aspects of Rebuilding Ireland are worked on and delivered in order to provide appropriate accommodation for the people on our housing lists. It is a different debate as to whether that is long term or another tenure element. We will work to deliver on that in terms of whatever direction comes to us. We have been successful in delivering under the policies that have been set to date, be that under the housing assistance payment, HAP, or the increased amount of leasing. In turnkey operations, direct builds have been important.

We need to see a strong balance emerging between private sector building and public housing if we are to ensure an appropriate tenure mix while also meeting market demand. This relates to the question of affordability. Unless we start seeing a significant improvement in starter homes, we will never move to address that aspect of the situation. One of the key areas that we would like to see more advancement on is the affordable loan that is available to people. It is an excellent loan at a good rate. It is a question of how to mobilise it and get it working more quickly so as to enable people to get starter homes and take some of the pressure off other sectors.

A question was asked about the speed of delivery. Various policies over the past 30 years - I have worked under most of them - have seen the local authority being the provider, the introduction of AHBs and, at one stage, an emphasis being placed on AHBs. Addressing that saw shifts in the various elements between private provision, AHBs and us. Consequently, and particularly in the past eight years, local authorities have not been as geared up for delivery because a different sector was providing housing. It has taken time to resource and rebuild our respective departments, personnel and expertise to drive forward with various types of build. We have ramped up considerably.

The 2018 targets will be achieved overall, although individual targets pose challenges for the authorities for which they are set. That is down to some of the processes. Authorities will be up in some years and slightly down in others, but it is important that we be measured as a sector overall. Turnkey operations are a vital part of that. The four-stage process was mentioned but, in terms of direct build, committee members will see the speed with which turnkey operations can be turned around and delivered as distinct from the four-stage process. That depends on the activity that is taking place within the respective county.

I will comment on the four-stage process. There have been improvements. The introduction of the 59-week process has enabled us to work to more clearly defined timelines. We would like to see further improvements. It has been indicated that the four-stage process could be reduced to two. The first stage would be a combination of the current stages 1 and 2, which would increase its sufficiency prior to formal planning permission. That would be done to ensure we had confidence going forward. I am a great believer in-----