Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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We will. I have no issue with doing that and we will do it. The other thing is if one uses the design manual the four-stage process is basically a three-stage one. Within the Department and with our partners we work to get people in the room together and picking up the phone instead of writing to each other. Some of the issues that arise between a local authority and the Department, or indeed the Housing Agency's assessments, can be dealt with swiftly. We need to improve that. This does not relate to the single-stage process, but we need to ensure we are getting value for money too. Some on the Opposition side have said I should throw out the public spending code. The Senator is not saying that, but it is a balance and we must get it right. If we got that wrong, the committee would rightly be dragging me or the Ministers of State in and asking why we allowed it to be done and outlining how a body has overspent by a multiple of what was originally budgeted for. We have a good pipeline on the social housing side. Between build, design and the like there are about 19,000 in process. That is a significant amount. We will pursue single-stage approval. I want to see it used more. Some local authorities have dipped their toes in the water. There was a concern with legacy issues that happened previously and that was one of the issues around affordable housing as well, but we have given assurances in that regard too.