Mr. David Rouse:

We have a couple of studies carried out by thesis candidates at the Dublin Institute of Technology who are undertaking MSc degrees in real estate. That is the robust detailed academic research available. As mentioned, the Housing Agency is undertaking a more extensive study.

That is a difficult one because we are dealing with accounts that have a limited amount of information in them. If the company has a sinking fund in its accounts, it is impossible to know whether that is adequate for the building. A company may have €500,000 in a sinking fund but it may have 800 apartments. Is that enough to fix all the lifts when they run out of time? It is a chicken and egg situation. Some studies, in particular, one by Ms Adele McKeown from 2016, have indicated that debtors in a company's accounts went up by more than 50% year on year. Essentially, they were going backwards in their financial situation. They were not able to put a finger on when they would ever get to start a sinking fund, let alone have something started. That is the difficulty. There might be a sinking fund, but it could be totally inadequate.