Ms Catherine McConnell:

It comes down to three points. There is a huge willingness and appetite for this among communities and the local authority sector. The leadership that is needed, as Mr. Hynes explained, is well established in the local authorities, with the support of the Department and the communities on the ground. It then comes down to how we make that happen. Engaging the private sector through incentives is key to this. The moneys that have flowed through the various schemes have been hugely valuable but until the private sector is fully engaged in this through incentives, we will not see the kind of impact on the ground that we are hoping for. It is about selling our town centres as places where people want to live, and that is about two issues, the quality of life and the return on their investment. They need to see that what they spend on their home will be over and above what they had anticipated.