Ms Anne Marie O'Connor:

It is largely because the policy objective needs to be included at the development plan stage. For something like a district heating system to work, it has to be hard wired in at an early stage in the development because such systems are notoriously difficult to retrofit. We have to be able to see what types of developments are going into an area, what type of land use is involved, where the synergies are there and then put in a place strong policy objective for the provision of district heating in those areas. There are some interesting projects on district heating but they are very much at the pilot stage now and some of them, even still, are just at the stage of inception. It is probably one of the areas, along with the biogas area, where we are really at a very early stage in terms of developing our understanding and thinking as to how this can work. It is very difficult to retrofit district heating.

In terms of active land management and why things are not necessarily happening on the ground, there can be a frustration and I completely acknowledge that. A key point about active land management is that it is extremely resource intensive. It needs people for whom it is their full-time job to deliver, with a clear focus on delivering and with the skill set to do it. We are at the relatively early stages of developing those skill sets within the local authorities and resourcing dedicated teams and units to pursue active land management. We are seeing those coming on stream, on foot of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, URDF, and the Rural Regeneration and Development, RRDF, funding streams, which are providing the resources. Certainly, in terms of resourcing, both financially and in regard to skill sets, we still have a long way to go in that area.