Mr. Kevin McCarthy:

We are working closely with the Housing Agency and with approved housing bodies on developing both an ownership model and a funding model for phase 2 accommodation. There has been quite a bit of development on that front since the programme board was set up to develop the implementation plan and to begin to identify 2022 actions that we would move on.

The Deputy is right to say the overall housing market and rental market is a factor in terms of our capacity to be able to acquire accommodation of the quality and scale that we will be seeking to acquire. We have made some good progress already in acquiring phase 2 accommodation and, at this stage, we have 11 properties already acquired, with 44 in train, and there is funding of €28 million this year to implement White Paper actions. We expect we will be seeking some supplementary funding on the capital front if we make good progress on the properties that are in the acquisition process.