Dr. Kieran Feighan:

I will deal with some of the items and our director general will deal with the others. The Deputy's starting point about not wanting to add another layer is very pertinent. Our submission referred to the need for clarity on the institutional relationships that will come, and there is obviously a big interaction between what the local authorities are currently, their current powers and the powers directly-elected mayors may have, and the powers or lack of powers that the Land Development Agency, LDA, may have. Even after the LDA is established on a statutory basis, there is still a significant potential for delay in the delivery of schemes because it is not at all clear how those relative balances will evolve in those institutions.

The Deputy spoke about how to get smaller players involved. As the RIAI noted, we have seen the use of frameworks rather than doing it contract by contract, and having a framework in place so a large number players are available and, then, on a pot by pot basis, rolling those out. I believe that has been successful. I also echo what the RIAI said about the use of mechanisms, such as wild card and high-low, to make sure that we are giving all the players some opportunity to participate.

I will defer to Ms Spillane on affordability.