Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I think many people would welcome the mix to which Mr. Benson referred. Originally, a lot of compact growth was sold on the basis that while there would be less open space, it would be higher quality space. Several years on, there is a level of disappointment that some of the high-quality open space has not been delivered on. There are also issues around who manages the space and who pays for the management of it. If responsibility for that open space is transferred to the council, there are questions over whether the quality of the space will be lost. There are all of those challenges.

Finally, some very good points were made about land on the issues around viability. I agree with the point made by the Chair that there are very good reasons why land is constrained through zoning. When it is done properly it has an effect in terms of increasing land prices and costs and constraining supply. My view is that the two have not been properly balanced. I do not think the answer to that is more zoning more land. As the Chair said earlier, that does not help in terms of trying to match up infrastructure with land. It actually makes that challenge more difficult. Initiatives, such as those taken in Vienna, where there are affordable housing zonings and in some zones, limits are placed on the rents or prices that can be paid per square metre for purchased homes, have an effect. When land is zoned, it does not increase in value to the same extent as when there is simply open market zoning. It ties into the issues around viability. We must be aware that while some measures that are advocated to address viability are well intentioned, they can lead to increases in land and site prices. We must be able to distinguish been initiatives that address viability and those that, while they may provide an immediate reduction in costs, effectively end up transferring that cost onto the value of the sites. I think there is a huge opportunity around active land management. It is an opportunity that has been somewhat missed in terms of what the Land Development Agency is doing at the moment. I think it could be playing a much bigger role in active land management overall and in master-planning. There is an issue around master plans and local area plans in respect of them being properly resourced and prioritised, and the delays that causes. Everyone agrees that it is a good idea, but actually trying to get the resources in place and the prioritisation required to deliver it is a big challenge. On apartment lending, the whole financial viability and the constraints around it, people are not able to build and sell town houses. Large forward funding is required and people cannot get it from the banks. My view is that a public lending model, whereby funds are provided, for example, through Home Building Finance Ireland, is a mechanism for doing that. Do the witnesses agree that this is the way it needs to be done? Is there any other way of doing it, given the constraints in place in terms of financing for apartment viability?