Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)

I thank the witnesses for being here today so soon after the last visit. Today's focus is very much on affordable housing, but it is important to remember that without service to our zoned land, there is going to be no progress whether that is in private housing, affordable housing, cost-rental or social housing. It is all part of the same system. When the witnesses were here with us before, they highlighted the shortage of zoned and serviced land. That was seen as a critical blockage, and we were discussing the Minister's letter from May that was sent out to the councils. The numbers were not released and that was the blockage. However, now it seems the Minister has issued the section 28 guidelines, and it has provided critical numbers for all areas, including my own area of Kildare with 2,706 per year. The Minister is asking the councils to vary the development lands as soon as possible. It seems, therefore, that the blockage now has been passed on to local authority level. In that context, this is my question. I have seen that Cork County Council and Kildare County Council have adopted a very proactive approach whereby they are seeking public consultation to identify additional lands for zoning, whether that is brownfield, greenfield, etc. It is all for rezoning under section 28. What do the witnesses think of Cork County Council's initiative? Are they aware of it? Can they tell me whether many other local authorities are following suit? If they are, where are they in the process, and what are the likely timeframes for the completion of the variations in those plans? Anybody can answer.