Professor John McHale:

I wish to answer the question on housing, which as Deputy Boyd Barrett said, we have discussed previously. I agree on the seriousness of the issue. It is a great risk to Irish growth. One of the factors that should be feeding positively into growth is the return of emigrants. It is incredibly difficult to come back to Ireland, particularly Dublin or one of the other cities, because of the cost of housing. This could choke off the very positive growth dynamic. In addition, there are social issues to be considered in relation to the housing crisis. I agree with the Deputy on the seriousness of the problem.

Perhaps the lack of housing supply is so severe that a private sector response will be an important component along with identifying all the factors that are holding this back, such as people sitting on development land, as mentioned by the Deputy. A vacant site levy could be important, bearing in mind that the cost of providing housing is still very high. We have a chart in the report that compares the evolution of the cost of house building with house prices. There are finance issues, as the Deputy stated, in addition to regulation issues. Many challenges need to be tackled to try to have a private sector response. Clearly, however, we cannot rely on the private sector alone, such is the severity of the problem. People’s housing needs are so great that the social housing side must comprise an important part of the solution. We probably do not disagree that both sectors are required. One could argue about the mix but I agree on the seriousness of the problem. It is one of the major issues we will be facing in a couple of years and it has to be a major policy priority.