Mr. Ian Talbot:

I have not formed particular views on REITs as we have been looking at the overall property market. We overdid it in the good years and now we have overdone it in the bad years. It led to this point where the price of commercial properties had collapsed. People with cash, both in the residential and commercial sectors, were effectively able to move in and cut a good deal. This should balance itself out over time. However, we have an important issue going on at the moment in that we do not have enough residential properties being built, particularly in the Dublin area. That shortage is because we have not built much for the past seven years and for a few years before that we were building the type of property in which Irish people do not particularly want to live.

If we want to get residential property built in the Dublin area, we need to start looking at repealing measures such as the 80% windfall tax introduced in 2009 which is actually preventing industrial sites around the Luas on the Naas Road, for example, being sold and converted to residential units. We have still got the balance wrong on property. I agree with some of the Deputy’s sentiments but we need to get the balance right to ensure we are building the right residential units in the right areas. REITs are one of the measures to get investment in. We are struggling with issues around how we fund people to build new houses. Building an apartment block takes longer and requires more funding before there is a return in a few years compared to a development of semi-detached units. We are focused on getting construction moving and creating jobs. For that, we need some investment vehicles.