Mr. D?nal McCormack:

It depends on the landowner. One issue we see as beneficial for the public side versus private is the inclusion of a definition of affordability. I am not sure how to define that. In Germany they benchmark this against the cost of agricultural land; it is four times the cost of agricultural land or something similar to that. They still look at some type of model out there.

The whole point is that this is something that was lost in the 1934 Act. Some local authorities include some basis of affordability and South Dublin County Council includes in its allotment process a factor if somebody is unemployed or a pensioner, and they have reduced costs to pay versus the general public. I am not sure what is the answer with affordability but we must have some measure of it. My fear is that over time the local authorities may increase costs when times get hard again because there could be massive demand. Private suppliers may also increase to a level that would limit the point of doing this. We are here looking to get as many people growing as possible. That is why we call the report Let's Get Growing.

We want some type of benchmark for the private lands. Comparing English and Irish prices, for example, there are plots in some parts of Newcastle where the cost could be £20 or £30 per year for a plot of 250 sq. m. That would not be got in Ireland. We never had much emphasis put on affordability and that is really what we are looking for in the first place.