Professor Michelle Norris:

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for the suggestion about choice-based lettings. Choice-based lettings have substantial advantages, especially with regard to the management of vacant dwellings. That is a good suggestion. I do not want to speak for the regulator but we met the regulator and discussed these proposals in much depth before putting them forward. The regulator said to us that he is confident that this mechanism will work. I mentioned that a theme in our analysis is that the 1998 Act was brought in and that various things have happened since then that undermined its implementation. The regulator is an example of the opposite. It is a new facility that was not there when the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 was introduced. It has a mechanism to review plans and will do so for everybody. We will have that expertise once it is properly staffed. We felt that that was a very logical way to deal with the issues regarding planning for Traveller accommodation in a streamlined way along with any other planning issues that arise. We are confident that the regulator can play that role.

One reason for the amount of material on evidence in the report is that academics love evidence and we felt that it was necessary for planning. The advice of the regulator is that any regulator intervention will be subject to court challenge unless the decisions have been reached on foot of robust evidence. That is one reason evidence is so important.