Mr. D?nal McCormack:

One difference between what has happened in Battersea in the UK and ourselves if that if eight local residents in England or Wales request a plot, the local authority must provide it. That provision has been in place since 1908. While we referenced Scotland and Wales because they have a similar climate, Denmark in 2001 made all its allotments and community gardens permanent overnight because it thought that they would be removed.

In terms of community land trusts, we know that in Scotland community land trusts are 90% funded. That could be considered for Ireland. Currently, we are not aware of any grants available for the purchase of land. All the grants exclude major funding such as land purchase. That is why we think a model such as community land trusts could put access to land back into the hands of communities.