Dr. Donal McManus:

There are a couple of issues. I will start with the special purpose vehicle. We have been involved in trying to get a financial vehicle set up for the last three or four months. There is a need to bring more finance into the sector that is off the balance sheet of the State and off the balance sheet of the housing associations, as we are carrying debts on our balance sheets. There is a Welsh model which we were looking at very closely initially. Five associations set it up, drew in a lot of money from financial bodies and acquired properties on the private market. We are looking at a financial vehicle that draws money in from the investment sector - such as pension funds or credit unions, which lend out to housing associations at very favourable rates. That was the overall context.

Obviously, with any financial model we can have plenty of finance but no product. That is what we are facing. There is loads of finance floating around but there is no product in the private sector. This is a more structured vehicle. We are looking at the possibility of joint ventures with the private development sector. If it has product, then we can use that finance to acquire the units.

We had discussions with Limerick City and County Council about regeneration involving a number of associations. We have been down there for a couple of years to see what role we can play in Limerick in spreading regeneration. Again, that could be a use for the loan finance mixed funding regime. It has been considered in the context of recent issues, as the Deputy mentioned, as well as in the wider context of drawing finance into the sector.

At the end of the day there is a huge ask on all of us, with 35,000 homes to be produced by 2020. The local authorities can play a role, as can we. We have to use these different vehicles to draw money in. Although the new vehicles can be complex, people are working their damnedest to get these solutions in place for the likes of Limerick and others, in terms of both regeneration and new building and acquisition.

We do need product and we depend on the private sector being active. There is no point in the private sector being inactive. We are all intertwined in terms of failures in the housing sector. I hope that, in its deliberations, the committee will reflect on the fact that the private sector does affect us in terms of new supply.

Returning to Deputy Quinlivan's question, we are sad at the moment because we came very close to having a model together. We do not want to over-egg it or do it prematurely. We want it tied down and to get the people and the associations committed. We can then show people it is not just talk but is actually something we have achieved. Hopefully in the next couple of months we will have something concrete. We are still working to try to assist the regeneration programme in Limerick.