Mr. Eugene Cummins:

Of course. I will deal with some of the questions and will then invite my colleagues in to deal with the rest, in so far as we can and based on information we have. In respect of the private rental sector, the economy, as we all know, has improved significantly and a lot of emigrants are returning to the country, thankfully.

They are competing for rental properties. People who, in the past, were in a position to be able to save for and buy properties are, as a result of affordability and income issues, not in a position to do so and are also competing for properties that heretofore were used for social housing. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many people, including immigrants who have returned and people who cannot afford to buy properties, are all looking for the limited number of properties available. In some cases, both partners are working but such couples are forced to rent because of the issues around affordability.

On State borrowing and why the Government would not return to borrowing, it is important to have approved housing bodies because they can borrow money. Government borrowing for housing is regarded as on-balance sheet borrowing and is subject to the restrictions to which Mr. Brady referred.

I entirely agree with Deputy Wallace on quality builders. Everything is not done by large developers. We are all aware of smaller builders, and they perhaps build the best properties. What I mean by quality builders are those who adhere to planning permission, build according to the building regulations, have the correct certification and supervision and sign off on projects. My colleagues will address the issue.

On the question of whether to have 100%, 10% or 15% build-out, it depends on the site and its context. A small infill site in Dublin city, for example, could be built out by 100% because of the broader context and mix of properties in the general area, whereas a similar site in a town where there is a need for housing would not be so built out because there would not be a mix of tenure in the broader area and that might lead to the problems to which Deputy Wallace referred.