Mr. Carlos Martínez Mongay:

The Commission has nothing to do with regulating social housing except with respect to competition rules. Competition rules and, in particular, state aid rules do not apply to money going from a government to consumers and households. It applies to money going from a government to companies. In principle, I do not see why the Commission would raise a problem if someone in Ireland decided to subsidise part of a house price as long as the subsidy went to the household, not a company. Another matter is how one finances the cost of this. That is a choice that is made within the budget. For example, within the budget, one may decide to prioritise investment in highways, social housing and childcare. This is a decision that is in the Government's hands, not of the Commission.