Mr. Brendan McDonagh:

In respect of the rental market, I believe the statistics are available. I understand there is a rental market of somewhere between 250,000 to 300,000 units and the Senator is correct in that if we have 10,000 units, that equates to one in 25. As for the breakdown of figures regarding type against location and the extent of rent supplement, I do not have that information to hand but we will try to compile it and write back to the joint committee to provide it.

As for receivers and rental markets, this is an issue we hear about a lot because people contact us about it. In every single case about which we have been contacted and where there was a problem, it was not a NAMA receiver. They were acting for another bank. I acknowledge that might simply be luck but we are clear that receivers must do the job properly. Moreover, if there are issues with the management company, there must be compliance with the Multi-Unit Developments Act. We are very clear about all these issues and sometimes there are very difficult issues to be resolved that we simply have inherited. We are highly conscious of making sure such issues get sorted out, although sometimes they are not easy to sort out. As for the properties that are being made available, as I told Deputy Boyd Barrett, we have a limited amount of stock and the problem is much bigger than that. In respect of the units NAMA has offered to make available, the term of the lease is for 20 years. We recognise that longer-term leases are required, especially for the housing bodies as that is how they get the best value out of the property.

The Senator spoke about REITs in terms of institutional interests and whether it would be domestic or international. I believe it would be a bit of both. The Senator also mentioned how her experience in this regard was not very good but, like anything, there are serious players who are institutional investors in REITs and who set up and run REITs. There are others who are opportunists and who simply perceive it as a money-making opportunity. One would hope the more serious players, who have experience in this regard, would be those who would do this.

As for the Minister for Finance and the tax changes, the major point about REITs, unlike everything else, is that depending on where the REIT is located, it is all down to the distribution of income from it. I understand that in some REITs, up to 90% of the net income must be distributed. The issue then revolves around a policy issue on what rate of tax applies, or not, as the case may be. These trusts are not very straightforward and different countries have set them up in different ways. They have worked quite successfully in the United States but have been less successful in the United Kingdom. I believe the latter is considering changing its structures again to try to get them to work better. NAMA is willing to participate in a forum with the Department of Finance to try to design one that would work best for the industry and would be the most productive in trying to create a REIT industry in Ireland that works, as opposed to one that is in place but which does not work at all, because that would not be in anyone's interest.