James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

No, I do not believe it has led to a delay. We have an open call with AHBs, for example, so there is sometimes confusion between an application coming in and whether we decide to fund a project. Some seem to have the view or position, or misunderstand, that because they have put in an application, there is an entitlement to funding and, therefore, if they do not get the funding within a certain period, that is a delay. That is not necessarily a delay, though. We have taken the view of having an open call, which means we are almost certainly going to get applications well in excess of what the Department can fund at any one time, so we have to triage, assess and make decisions about funds. The fact that something is not funded does not necessarily mean a delay in the Department of housing's perspective.