Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. O'Toole for his very good answer. I understand the cyclical nature of the industry but, presumably, if one is going to spend a huge volume of money - we are talking about millions - on a building or buildings across the country in various different locations, if they were bought, potentially for less than would be spent leasing them, at least one would have an asset at the end of it, which would negate the risk. If one is going to pay serious rent and set-up costs over what is usually a ten-year period, I would presume that if one bought the building one would at least have the asset at the end of the period. That would negate the risk. I understand what happened to FÁS when construction collapsed, but when the totality of rent being committed to is well in excess of the cost of the building and fit-out, would it not make more sense to buy properties across the country in all of these locations?