Mr. Gabriel Makhlouf:

Let me address Senator Horkan's question. As I said yesterday, we are very conscious that the rules impact on individuals and on families. The issue relating to renters is one that has been raised with me by a number of people. We did look at it, but we could not find a way that dealt with the precise issue Senator Horkan mentioned but also protected the integrity of what the rules are trying to do. There are three interrelated things here. Fundamentally, we are still dealing with a problem of housing supply. Ultimately, until we fix that problem, I am not sure that tinkering with the rules will get us anywhere.

The second point is that it is worth remembering that apart from a two or three-year period in the run-up to the financial crisis, a 10% deposit was an expectation from all banks. It is the biggest investment decision that people make. The third point I would make is that banks do take into account an individual's track record in terms of paying their rent. That is a factor that banks take into account in their decision. However, in terms of the mortgage rules themselves, we could not find a way to relax the rules and keep the integrity of the rules. That is ultimately where we ended up.

In terms of public banking models, I am not absolutely sure what Senator Conway-Walsh means when she refers to public banking.