Dr. Donal McManus:

I will share the reply with Mr. O'Brien. The first part was a question on the either-or aspect. Deputy Coppinger clearly referred to either local authorities or approved housing bodies. I do not see it as a question of either-or. Obviously, the bulk of the capital funding goes to local authorities. We can see this in terms of the output, construction and acquisition. At the moment, local authorities have the bulk of the capital rather than AHBs. We have only 30% of the capital funding. The capital assistance scheme is €70 million for the country and 30% of capital is available under the capital advance leasing facility, amounting to €30 million or €40 million. In other words, the bulk is still within local authorities at the moment rather than AHBs. Initially, we played a complementary role. Moreover, we provide more family-type housing and we take people off the waiting list. Obviously, all elected members know people on the waiting lists. Whether it happens through local authorities or approved housing bodies I imagine members want people off the waiting lists. That is one thing AHBs believe they can alter. In some cases they may have to acquire the properties or talk to receivers to buy properties in different estates. Anyway, they take people off the waiting list. Their key motivation is to house people. In some cases they need sites. In recent years more of the sites have been provided by the private sector whereas in the past it may have been religious bodies or local community organisations that provided the sites. That would have been the path for land. Anyway, I do not see it as either-or. We have a housing crisis at the moment and we have to put all hands to the pump, whether local authorities or AHB. We have no wish to be competing when it comes to taking people off the waiting list.

There are two regulators at the moment. There is a regulator for landlord tenant relationships with the Private Residential Tenancies Board. We have moved on with the PRTB. Tenants have a remedy and can go to the PRTB in the end if there are any issues. That is one positive thing for the landlord-tenant relationship. There is regulation of organisations as well. A new regulatory structure was put in place in recent years and it will probably be statutory from next year. That will provide a public level of accountability and hopefully there will be an independent regulator for the sector. There will be regulation for the organisations and regulation for the landlord-tenant relationship. That is important to build up confidence among everyone in the sector, including elected members and others.