Mr. Conor O'Connell:

On the area of solutions, the Deputy mentioned de-risking. We need to have mandatory timeframes in relation to decision-making right across the whole of the public sector when it comes to planning and the provision of water and wastewater infrastructure. Mandatory timeframes would help de-risk the whole process for us.

On the viability challenge, we cannot repeat enough that we are in extraordinary times at the moment. I know what the Deputy is saying when he states that sometimes immediate solutions cause long-term problems in respect of land costs or whatever it may be. However, currently, we are in extraordinary times. We have never faced the amount of challenges that we have faced over the past three years, including the extraordinary increases in material cost inflation. We need to make more sense of it, without being too alarmist about it. We will monitor the commencements and completions over the number of weeks and months but we need immediate solutions in relation to the situation. On the price and control levers, we cannot control material costs. Even if the Government was to buy a lot of steel, timber and blocks, the prices would be locked in as they are now. The levers of control in relation to deliverability - and deliverability concerns costs - are unfortunately on the soft costs, including the VAT, the development levies, the special charges, the development bonds, to name but a few. That is our sense of it at the moment. Obviously, we have to finalise our thinking on the issue.

However, we are facing an immediate and extraordinary crisis.