Mr. Michael Layde:

One of the ambitions of the HAP is to ensure there is an improvement in the standard of housing being provided. Generally, people going into HAP will have sourced their own accommodation. However, it will be required to meet appropriate housing standards and will be inspected by the local authorities to ensure it does. The intention is that accommodation provided under HAP will be comparable to, if not better than, accommodation available under other social housing delivery mechanisms. We would contend it represents parity of treatment in that sense.

Top-ups are a source of concern. One of the advantages of HAP is that it will strengthen regulation within the sector. One of the things we would wish to counter would be any suggestion of illegality.

We have an implementation plan to deal with homelessness. The situation in Dublin with homeless families is of particular concern and will be a particular target for us. Under the implementation plan, Dublin City Council is preparing a specific action plan to deal with the concentration of the problem in Dublin. This will be available in the coming weeks. Already today, we saw the launch of a prevention policy and initiative to prevent families from falling into that position.

The reduction in house building is a consequence of the overall national macroeconomic situation. Clearly, the resources have not been available to us for broader budgetary reasons.

The voluntary housing sector is a key part in our approach. It has the capacity, as Deputy Ellis said, to borrow off-balance-sheet. In the context of social housing policy, we are looking at the possibility of a similar approach for bodies within local authorities. However, there is the issue of satisfying the Central Statistics Office and EUROSTAT requirements on public debt as to whether such a device would be possible.