Dr. Conor O'Toole:

Exactly, yes. Up to 30% of cork and manufactured wood product imports came from the United Kingdom in 2017. There is a considerable reliance on these types of structure that are building and construction oriented.

Some other risks should be pointed to. If construction firms face difficulties in the credit market in raising capital or financing in a post-Brexit environment, that could be a particular constraint on their typical ability to deliver units.

There is a related financing point relevant to the mortgage market. If the banking sector is hit by a material financial stability risk, those involved may have to pull back on some of their lending activities. That would affect construction firms and the demand side of the housing market if mortgage availability were to reduce. I know that some of the Irish banks have large activities in the United Kingdom and they could be exposed to some of the major financial stability risks in that context.

I am keen to comment on a basket of points raised by Deputies O'Dowd and Casey about the model for delivery of particular types of unit of social housing. One thing we have learned from the crisis and in thinking about the types of policy that are appropriate is that there is a need to have a system that can react whenever shocks occur. It is important not to have a particular over-reliance on one delivery solution. For example, let us consider the work of the local authorities, approved housing bodies and other models of private sector cost rental or for the delivery of cost rental units. They all have to be part of a basket of solutions to have a healthy functioning market that can withstand shocks and downturns, whether they are Brexit-related or others. Certainly, the research we published in June suggests having a range of delivery mechanisms is the most appropriate for any market to function well. When we have a shock like Brexit and the problems are exacerbated in the requirements for housing, we can withstand it better.