Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the representatives for their time, reports and engagement. The information gleaned from the exchange so far has been beneficial. I appreciate the frank offer of information.

I wish to begin with Mr. McDonagh's remarks in respect of the social housing engagement NAMA had with local authorities and the offer of 7,000 residential units to them by the agency, of which only 2,717 were taken up. He stated that many local authorities retrospectively contacted NAMA to indicate regret that they had not availed of those units. Given the current housing crisis, I also regret that they did not accept the offer. I wish to explore that because it is a scandal that our local authorities, which often refer to the crisis facing them and the pressure they are under, did not engage with those offers. How many local authorities retrospectively indicated to NAMA that they regretted not taking up the offer when it was on the table?