Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for the information. I very much see this exchange as an information-providing and gathering exercise, if you will. I welcome the frankness with which the witnesses have given their information. That is a recurring theme, given the earlier witnesses we heard from, and I am grateful for it.

I am trying to seek a better understanding of two processes in particular. One is in respect of the rapid-build or modular housing piece of the jigsaw or challenge. I will direct a question to Mr. Walsh. My understanding of the protocol in place for the OPW and local authorities is that the local authority identifies lands for modular housing, the submission is then made to the OPW and the OPW then sends a contracted team to assess the suitability of the site.

Am I correct in making that assumption in terms of how that model works?

I ask Mr. Walsh, as the chief executive of Waterford City and County Council, and generally as a member of the technical working group that feeds into the accommodation working group, for his observations on what has been the experience of local authorities so far with the perceived lack of progress made with modular or rapid-build housing?