Mr. Conor O'Kelly:

The Deputy is correct about the availability of private international capital through institutional investors. We are trying to attract such investment in the residential sector; it has already been evident in the commercial property sector here and in the UK. Part of the ISIF mandate is to attract co-investors. The €2.4 billion invested by the ISIF to date has been matched by a multiplier of 2.5. through co-investment, which equates to almost €7 billion. We are always seeking to include co-investors in any investments we make. In the case of the Activate Capital proposal, KKR is the co-investor, the Ardstone Residential Partnership involves co-investment from Aviva Ireland and the An Post pension fund, while the DCU investment in accommodation attracted the European Investment Bank as a co-investor. There are institutional investors right across the risk spectrum and that is what we need. The An Post pension fund and Aviva, for example, would be on the conservative end, while others would occupy the higher risk end of the spectrum. I agree with the Deputy that this is the kind of investment we need to attract. Such investors, however, need to see a platform that is established and that is what we are trying to look at right now.