Ms Caroline Timmons:

I think we were asked for 140 posts and that is what we sought sanction for at the time. We had a good interaction with our colleagues in Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform who wanted to do it on a phased basis. I think we got sanction for 60 or 70 posts at the time, most of which are in place now. We were then asked to come back at a later stage after the impact of the initial sanction had been assessed with a view to providing further resources.

We have been engaging this week with our housing delivery co-ordination office and the County and City Management Association, CCMA, to consider what the next ask will be. It may be slightly more than the balance of the 144. We will be re-engaging with our colleagues in the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform over the next month on that basis.