Mr. Dermot Mahon:

Galway City Council has had a slightly different experience in that there has not been much uptake by developers of large schemes. We have one approval of 42 units but that was subsequently withdrawn. It came back in through an AHB CALF scheme so social units will be delivered. In 2021, we had 11 units on a long-term lease and they were all individual one-off properties. This year, there are 3 units. So there are 14 units that will be allocated using choice based letting.

Is it useful? Every and all mechanisms that are available are useful. The plethora of schemes or options available to a developer can sometimes muddy the water because there is too much choice. We have received a lot of expressions of interest from developers who examined the feasibility of the long-term leasing option. As they worked through the process they found that it was not feasible and said they preferred to either pursue the turnkey route or partner with an AHB. We did not get a significant supply from long-term leasing other than one-off units with individual landlords. If the scheme were to be introduced then anything that increases supply is to be welcomed.