Dr. Conor O'Toole:

We often talk about the housing market as one market but it is not. There are lots of micro-markets in any jurisdiction and in Ireland in particular. In Laois or other rural and urban areas, there are different markets operating with different structures. Common to all of that are the same factors we have been talking about. There are likely to be viability challenges, supply constraints, water connection issues and zoned land issues. The broader factors that affect the general economy or the general housing market are likely to be impactful on the ground in rural areas like Laois which the Senator mentioned. We can deal with that by making sure that when we plan at high level, it trickles down to local authorities making decisions on housing or activities in their areas. We should also have national policies that can be accessed on a disaggregated basis for funding access and the like.