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

I have three questions relating to Pillar 5. Could Mr. McCarthy give us an update on the timeline for the publication of the vacant homes plan? Is there any time left for those of us who might like to make submissions or is the Department close to completion and publication? When the Housing Agency appeared before us a few weeks ago, one of the issues that arose was progressing the purchasing of the vacant bank properties with funding of €70 million to the Housing Agency. We understand that between AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB, there is somewhere in the region of 1,100 properties available for purchase. We know contracts have been or are about to be signed for about 217 properties. How many of the 1,100 properties are not suitable due to location or size and how many are under active consideration? Is there any concern that the way in which this financing is structured whereby it rolls over after the tranche is bought and sold on could result in the loss of any of those properties? Mr. McCarthy might not be able to answer my next question. I have had a look through the three schemes that are up and running under this heading and, on the basis of the information we got from the County and City Management Association and others previously, have tried to calculate what the total amount of units on the basis on what has been announced to date would deliver over six years. I have come up with a figure of about 6,400 or 6,500 units between the €70 million and the other figures. Does the Department have a target or will there be a target of the total number of units in the plan when it is published?