Mr. Pat Doyle:

For projects that were granted in 2019 and 2020 that are currently in the final stages, many of those developers are saying they are now doing it at cost because it has all been eaten up, and there is no flexibility in those ones. That is going to make others nervous coming forward. We have been told by the Department that we will get access to the information and there will be some flexibility and cushion built in on new ones, but it is about getting that message out there. Like housing providers talk to each other, developers talk to each other, and the ones currently on the ground delivering are being squeezed because of what happens, so it makes everybody nervous to price going forward. Some people have said they will not be entering into fixed pricing. Some people on the turnkeys have come back and are looking to renegotiate that now and are threatening to pull. It is just very risky at the moment, and that creates an uncertainty. That makes everybody just slow a bit. As it is slowing a bit, the concern we have is around 2023 and 2024 and the targets for 2024.

It is kind of like a big ship. It takes a while to speed up. If it slows at all, it takes another while to catch up. We are doing everything we can to look at what Ms Hegarty was talking about, with new models of working and new methods, including modular housing and factory builds. We have been looking at some of those costs. One is still dealing with labour costs, timber costs, imports and energy costs. All of those costs are there. To answer the question about the Housing Finance Agency, I am the president of an organisation with more than 270 members. I know the committee had a number of members in. I have to speak for all members. The interest rate hike was in line with interest rate hikes elsewhere. There was nothing abnormal about that. The speed and communication of that may be a matter for reflection. It was certainly a reasonable hike. It was in line with what was going on in other markets. People were taken aback by how quickly it moved. It seemed to move ahead of some other announcements. When they were made, it was in line with them. We will have to get used to that.

Our members have asked us to raise the issue of building endurance into the schemes in the future, including payment and availability, rental and capital advance agreement schemes. Maintaining properties to a certain standard and meeting loan repayments all requires flexible, moving payments. We have been promised a review.