Ms Camille Loftus:

I do not think I will be able to provide Deputy Boyd Barrett with much hope but maybe I can provide him with a little information. As I understand it, the Department has completed its review of income eligibility guidelines for social housing. I do not know whether any changes are proposed, but, as I understand it, the work is done in that regard. To my knowledge, no one does projections as to what is anticipated; however, we may have some information from the housing needs and demand assessment tool that was used to set the targets for the local authority action plan. We may have some information that would give the Deputy an indication of what is coming forward, but that is not yet in the public domain.

The Department, when its representatives are in here next week, will point out to the Deputy that the number on the housing list has been falling, albeit not very significantly. One dimension of that, which is very much under-discussed, is the mix. Often when we talk about housing in Ireland, we talk about the three-bedroom semi-detached house. From memory, I think 52% of people on the housing list would be in single-person households. It is higher in Dublin. Some 20% to 25% are lone parents with one or two children. Therefore, our demand for smaller units of accommodation is really high. I worry that if we built 33,000 three-bedroom semi-detached houses per year for the next while, we would still have a problem at the end of it. Therefore, the mix is really important. The impetus is such that, because the houses are more expensive, funding up is required.