Mr. John Coleman:

To follow up on the counter cyclical point about the approved housing bodies sector in the United Kingdom, registered providers and the models for private housing with a subvention or a way to fund social and affordable housing, I am not sure it would be a sustainable model through a downturn when private housing development might suffer or the profits from it might be lower than what would be required to subvent social and affordable housing. I do not believe it is on what the LDA should rely in its model, although I agree that it should seek ways to deal with the issue of affordable housing provision, in particular. Social housing will always be a function of its service in the interests of the general public. We should seek ways for affordable housing to be deliverable without a subvention through a downturn. It is something for which we should strive. In time, it might be decoupled from private housing delivery. Something else we would love to do through a downturn is buy land, particularly for the longer term, that obviously would not be tied to private housing production.

On whether the value added in Shanganagh would be solely due to the financing model the LDA might be able to invoke, it is a significant part of it. Developing something that would be sustainable through a downturn will be very important. If the LDA can sponsor and lead on it, it would be of benefit to the markets and the local authorities. It would also help us to deliver on our obligations through downturns if we still had an affordability requirement to meet on our sites. It is not as simple as purely being about the financing model. On a practical basis, we have been working well with the local authority on project management in Shanganagh, as well as with other local authorities.

It is not purely the financing model. We are collaborating well on other aspects.