Mr. John Coleman:

The Deputy's point about the cost of land being a big issue is well made. I know from experience that land could not be given away in Dublin five or six years ago, but now it is massively expensive. In some locations, for an apartment home, there could be a derived land cost well in excess of €100,000. This swing and volatility in land values is a big issue.

Ms Graham has mentioned how the Land Development Agency gets land and the consideration is that if it gets it at market value, will it fuel the process again. That is not the case. As Ms Graham said, the land will transfer at a value, taking account of the affordability requirement. Effectively, the value will be reduced to facilitate the delivery of affordable accommodation on the land. At Shanganagh, where the site comprises entirely social and affordable housing, there will be a vastly reduced value attached to the land. It will be reduced near enough to zero in order that social and affordable housing can be delivered on it. The risk of the agency fuelling the process is somewhat mitigated by the values taking account of the affordability requirement.