Ms Anne Colgan:

I suppose one of the things that has not been mentioned so far and that will be a positive thing coming from the Land Development Agency is the technical assistance it can offer to councils in the professional and technical areas. That bodes well for the collaborative partnership that could be available down the road and it would probably enable local authorities to be even more proactive in the provision of housing.

We would have to agree with all the sentiments in terms of the barriers that have been in the way of local authorities previously in delivering housing. It is also important to state that as part of the complementary nature of who does what, local authorities have an extensive track record in terms of providing housing for people with disabilities, older people and supported housing. The market is not responding to that need and that need would never be responded to were it not for the local authorities. Those population groups depend for housing in many cases on the local authority to deliver and that needs to be recognised.