Mr. Eddie Taaffe:

On additional land, local authority land banks are probably sufficient for the medium term only, as in the next three or possibly four years of delivery at best. That is assuming the lands that are not serviced will come on stream and be serviced in that time. Local authorities need to start building up their land banks again. There is a land acquisition fund available for local authorities to draw from. It is based in and operated by the Housing Agency. Approximately €80 million has been drawn down from that fund but the issue, according to the feedback we get from local authorities, is that the availability of suitable zoned and serviced land on the open market is very small. While there may be, on the face of it, available land, it may not be land that would be considered suitable for social housing for a number of reasons. It might be in the wrong location or prohibitively expensive. We need, if we are to guarantee and build up our land backs, to get back into compulsory purchase orders. They take time but that is really the only mechanism that gives you certainty of getting land.