Dr. Kieran McQuinn:

In general, we very much agree with the need for more balanced growth across the economy. It is clear that if we stand back and look at the overall economy we see the concentration of economic activity on the eastern seaboard. It is essential that we have more balanced growth, including along the western corridor, as a way of rivalling the eastern seaboard. Again, it is about ensuring that whatever investment we make in infrastructure can unleash an area or the growth potential of an area. Ultimately, the investments made must generate a certain rate of return for the taxpayer.

I fully agree with the Deputy on the property issue. It is interesting. Some years ago, we had people into the institute, as we frequently do, to discuss the property sector. If I have it correct, people from the Construction Industry Federation made a prediction based on changes in financing that have come about as a result of the financial sector and the kind of equity that property developers need to raise. Ultimately, the federation saw the major shortage being in rural areas, for example, with smaller developments. These were the kinds of projects property developers were going to have difficulty in raising finance for because they simply would not have the scale to meet the equity requirements that financial institutions were requiring. That was because of the financial crisis. There is definitely an issue there in terms of scale and development and it is a difficult one to address.

Let us go back to the whole principle around the LDA. I am not here to advocate for it one way or the other but it seems that because it is a national organisation or nationally widespread in terms of its scope, it can negotiate with developers in a way that would lead to the likelihood of more regional construction being brought about, if that were required so rather than each local authority having to deal with property developers for construction, if we were able to do this on a national basis it may lead to greater economies of scale and efficiencies. In turn, that would then see construction in rural areas that would otherwise not materialise. That may be one possibility. Certainly, in terms of the broader issue and the need for more balanced growth, the national development plan is addressing those issues and I would certainly very much agree with that.