Mr. Frank Curran:

I agree with the Deputy. We are very ambitious in this regard. As he said, the tools are now available. We are talking to the Department about expanding the serviced sites fund, which would be very welcome. The Bill will provide clarity on those issues of priority and eligibility, the rent, the period of the charge, etc. All of that will be clarified which will make it much easier for local authorities.

I mentioned we are considering acquiring land and we are looking at our staff structure in terms of gearing up for increased demand. We are also examining providing mixed tenure which, as I said, is important from a sustainable communities point of view. We certainly have the ambition and the tools available to us to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing into the future.

When we have set the targets and as go through that exercise, we will forward the information to the Deputy. We will forward any information we have in the interim to the committee and Deputy.