Mr. Brendan McDonagh:

There are also other costs there which are linked to external factors, such as the cost of materials.

The Deputy spoke about the Central Bank rules. They certainly have had the effect of dampening the market. We accept that it is difficult for people to get a mortgage, especially people starting with a starter home. That is certainly an issue.

The Deputy also mentioned Kildare. We will have a look at that and refer back to the committee as part of the general response on the local authorities. He also talked about changes in NAMA asset values since inception. When we got the loans in 2010 and 2011, the board made a strategic decision to sell very little in Ireland because the market was continuing to fall. Between 2010 and 2012, only €1 billion worth of properties were sold from the NAMA portfolio. We concentrated on selling the overseas assets. It is only since the Irish market began to recover that we have sold additional units and different properties in the market.

We paid the banks by reference to the valuation on 30 November 2009. Between 2009 and 2012, property values dropped by 30%. Now they are back up again and if one looks at the residential CSO index, it fell over 50%. It has recovered somewhat now, but valuations are still 33% down from their peak, so we are not immune. The commercial market in Dublin is completely different because at the peak, rents for commercial office space in Dublin in 2007 were about €55 per square foot on average. They went down to €27 per square foot and now they are back up towards €55 per square foot and that is-----