Mr. Vincent Cunningham:

I thank the members for the positive comments. Habitat for Humanity is about both advocacy and building. We are a global organisation operating in 70 countries around the world. Circumstances differ from one country to another, in particular between countries in the developed world such as Ireland as against Ethiopia or Zambia, where we run a programme along with Irish Aid. We believe in people having their own homes and a decent place to live. We require them to buy into that option in whichever way they can, whether that is through sweat, equity or by purchasing the properties provided by us. It is not a hand-out. They are required to put work and effort into gaining ownership of the houses. We are a global organisation and the circumstances differ depending on the country. Funding resources are different. The organisation receives government funding in some countries. In the case of Ireland we work in co-operation with Irish Aid on the programme in Zambia. Irish Aid provides the majority of the funding and we match it. Other countries have different models.

A number of members raised the issue of urban planning. We are an advocacy organisation and we look to try to change policy in different countries. Ms McCann can talk about our land tenure programme, a global advocacy campaign which we are launching.