Mr. Kevin Kelly:

I cannot correlate the housing crisis with levels of staffing in local authorities. The issue of resourcing generally in local authorities is the subject of an ongoing discussion with the Department. We all know how local authorities have been financed back and forth. There has been significant change in planning. This is one area. There are other areas in local government, but planning has become more complex and developments have become bigger. The resources that were lost to the planning authorities following the downturn have not been replaced because the funding has not been there to put them back in place. It is something which is quite clear.