Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor Drudy for his presentation. My questions will attempt to tease out different aspects. One of the points that is often lost in the debate is when those of us who advocate a return to large-scale social housing build relates to the fact that we are only advocating on behalf of those who will live in those houses as opposed to, as the professor said, reducing the pressure on the private rented and owner-occupier sectors. What are the overall benefits to the housing system of increasing the supply of social housing, including the benefit to the young professional private renter or the first-time buyer elsewhere in the system?

With regard to the 75,000 HAP units, under the strategy of the former Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, more than 80% of the 100,000 units he proposed are private sector units. There are 75,000 HAP units but there are also long-term lease units, etc. People talk about the need to return to large-scale social housing construction but there seems to be a reluctance to return to the traditional single tenure council estates. Is there a way of combining cost-rental units with differential rent to create council estates that are mixed income but single tenure to improve large scale projects? Has Professor Drudy any thoughts on that?

What are his thoughts on rent regulation? We have discussed, including this morning, the merits, for example, of rent certainty in terms of linking rents to the CPI or rent controls? Does he have a preference on that?

Will he elaborate on how the cost-rental model would operate for those of us who do not know the detail of it?

There is a great deal of talk about house prices for owner-occupiers and how to increase access to purchasing and to credit. A more important policy objective is to find ways of reducing the cost of purchasing houses. What are the professor's thoughts on this dilemma of increasing the supply of credit or reducing the cost of the unit for the purchaser and how to do that?