Mr. Eddie Taaffe:

Ms Geraghty and I in the housing delivery co-ordination office act as the link between all local authorities and the Department. We deal with the very matters outlined by the Deputy. I have no issue with the way we interact with the Department, the supports and the way it consults with us, particularly on the legislation relating to affordable housing.

We can take the two areas in which we are involved relating to social housing. By and large, local authorities know what they have to do and they just need to keep it going and do more of it. There is a tried and trusted methodology and there was a recent review of the four-stage process that will help. The Department has also recognised that we should not just do a review and stop but rather we should keep monitoring that. There will be a practitioner form set up to ensure the changes and the way this operates is continuously reviewed, modified and improved as we go through the programme.

On affordable housing and cost rental, we can look at the level of interest and supply that AHBs will have through the cost-rental equity loan. There has been significant interest in that and it is a success story. The housing bodies have really embraced it and are going to deliver on it.

On the question of the regulations relating to affordable housing, this is new to local authorities and it is a number of years since we have done it. We have had extensive engagement with the Department on the ins and outs of how the scheme will work. With any of the schemes, it is a balance between making it deliverable, simple and understandable while still having proper safeguards and governance around the expenditure of public money. We think the correct balance has been struck, although these are early days. Local authorities are actively pursuing schemes and getting an understanding. There is two-way communication between the Department and the officials. There was reference earlier to some projects in Waterford. Some of what we might call teething issues have been solved or are on their way to being solved in Waterford. It is through pilot projects like those that we learn and continuously improve.

To answer the Deputy's question, we are happy with the engagement, co-operation and flexibility afforded by the Department.