Ms Áine Myler:

Looking at the establishment of the LDA, it would be a good job for it to have a public portfolio register, and it would be a good start for it at this point in time to have things mapped, visible and transparent. To even have that as a specific purpose of the agency is a very important part for public trust, apart from anything else, but also for proper planning. If that is something which is in the objectives of this group, it is a very good start for every facet of what we want to do with our country.

The public service data strategy is very much involved in the provision of that type of information, first, to the public sector, but it is then also available to the rest of us in the commercial field.

I want to go back to the Deputy's point about tendering and the licensing piece, which are probably joined up. We did a survey of our members a while ago and found that, in 2015, some 70% said they were involved in some way or another with public projects whereas that figure is now less than 40%. I would think that is a reflection of many of our professions and industry sectors where, when commercial projects are available, they will opt for the commercial market and will opt out of the public sector. I know many local authorities in particular are finding it very difficult to get people to tender, even for small jobs, because it is easier to do the commercial work, which is quicker and cleaner and there is a designated client. While this might be unpalatable to hear, it is just that essence. Business is more easily done, or that is the perception of the fact. There may be great schemes in place, and I know many organisations are involved in them, and it is the same for professional services. However, while small firms, medium-size firms and larger firms would be on those frameworks, frankly, to get people to engage in them is the challenge, not to develop the process. I believe the LDA will be a case in point.

I take the Deputy's point about the fact we have this fragmentation and we have too many agencies. We have four local authorities in Dublin but we have no business having four local authorities in Dublin, given the size of the city. We can look at bigger cities in the UK and see they have one. If we want to know why we have not managed our processes to date, it is because we have a proliferation of agencies, all crossing each other and with nothing actually happening at the end of the day. I am not a political person so I am allowed to say things like this but, frankly, the Deputy is right. If we just put in another layer on top of other layers, maybe some other layers will have to be subsumed into this one, and perhaps that is the sort of project we are looking for at this time.

Will it be a fix? Only if it is given the right powers and resources to do this. A real culture is starting to be developed all the way through. It is actually seen as a resource for public bodies such as local authorities and other agencies to go to for access to that sort of expertise in housing at a strategic level, although not at an operational level.