Mr. James Benson:

I will leave the comment on the feasibility of nailing jelly to a wall to our developer. All my counterparts made good points. The premise of this needs to be reiterated. There is an obligation on the State to ensure an effective housing supply in all sectors of society. This brings into the equation the whole private sector and the private element of this. I will let Mr. O'Neill discuss that in a little more detail in the second half of our response to Deputy Casey.

Regarding the SHDs, I will take this opportunity to reiterate that we are waiting for the announcement due very shortly - at the end of this month, I think - from the Minister as to whether that process will be retained, reformed or concluded. Again, we have called for its extension, although we recommend that some elements within it be reformed. It has worked not to fast-track but to speed up and smooth out some of the issues that were within the planning process. It gives a good opportunity to highlight some of the items we discussed around viability and affordability earlier. Looking at the recent figures, in recent weeks we have seen approximately 23,815 units approved under the SHD process, of which 51% are apartments, residential units, and 29% student accommodation. We have probably only seen a fraction of those going to the ground and actually happening. There are a couple of reasons for this, viability being one and affordability being another.

Getting it shovel-ready can take a minimum of seven or eight months, from when permission is granted to when a developer or home builder can put the shovel in the ground to get the works under way. Securing the finance, drawdowns and meeting the legal conditions attached to planning permission will take up to six additional months after its granting.

I will comment on the vacant site levy, as it was referenced and ties into some of the points made earlier. Neither the industry nor the federation encourages land hoarding in any shape or form. It must be recognised that, under the national planning framework, the assessment and identification of lands which comply with the guidelines and directives in the regulatory impact analysis, RIA, and under the county development plan will prove to be quite a difficult task for any local authority or planning authority. We need to ensure the lands identified are viable sites, with the necessary infrastructure and services in place, rather than just zoned lands. That issue needs to be addressed in the coming months when we will see it included in some of the county development plans coming up to consultation stage.

Careers and apprenticeships are massive issues. We have spoken about other issues in the House, as has always been reiterated. On the whole, apprenticeship numbers are up, but we need to be cognisant of the wet trades which are always considered to be the dirty element of the trades. The overall numbers are up, as we can see in the most recent SOLAS figures which were only released in the past few days. While the numbers of apprenticeships in the wet trades were already down to double figures, they have dropped by a further 50% in recent months. Only a handful of plasterers and brick layers are coming through the apprenticeship scheme. The resources for the trades will no longer be there if something is not done about this in the coming months or years. The Construction Industry Federation has put huge emphasis on apprenticeships and bringing resources for both the wet trades and other elements into the industry. We have backed the Skills Live campaign. There is also a shared apprenticeship scheme, focusing on regional Ireland, which is trying to get together a cohort of developers, home builders and contractors to share an apprenticeship scheme as taking on apprentices can be quite onerous for them. We will also launch a careers campaign in the next few months that will aim to attract a younger cohort into apprenticeships. Third level education is one way to get into the industry, but a viable living of good quality can be earned through apprenticeship schemes, something which is not always emphasised. A huge amount of work has also been done to provide career guidance within schools. We facilitate our own members in going into schools in order to highlight that a good career can be achieved through apprenticeships. There is a huge amount of work being done and we need to be careful not to be our own worst inhibitors. We cannot constantly give out about the boom-bust cycle in the construction industry, on the one hand, while encouraging people into it, on the other.