Mr. John Hannigan:

It is predominantly from the Housing Finance Agency at present but these models of operation are very new. Although the AHBs have been in operation for 30 years, given this classification, it is effectively a new sector. There has been a ramping up of seeking to attract other funders to come into the market in the past five or six years. We in the Circle Voluntary Housing Body, for example, have just undertaken a loan with Allied Irish Bank. Other AHBs have utilised other pillar banks in Ireland and there have also been those AHBs that have used special purpose vehicles, SPVs, with foreign banks now coming into the market.

The reality is that classification has changed the way we look at things. We need a broader base of funders in this sector to meet the classification requirements. We are progressing that very quickly. At this point, probably 90% of the funding is coming from the HFA, but over the next two to three years there will be a dilution of that through other borrowers coming into the market.