Mr. Pat Doyle:

I hope we can be of some value to the Deputy. We represent the Irish Council for Social Housing. For us, it is all about social housing so I ask the Deputy to forgive me if we have not talked about other housing. I am well aware of the needs of those who are working full-time, perhaps have two jobs, and yet still cannot afford to buy or cannot find somewhere to buy. For the purposes of the council, we are involved in social housing.

The trust is refurbishing four units in Askeaton in Limerick. We are developing 12 units in Mallow Street and are turning an old pub in St. Joseph's Street into four apartments. We are doing that work on existing sites. There are more such sites out there where we could use the existing infrastructure. If we allowed a reduction in the VAT rate to 5%, as happens in other jurisdictions, to incentivise people to reuse what is already there, that might very well give us the infrastructure we need.

We face the same frustrations at times with the ESB and Irish Water. The development in Mallow Street involves an old Office of Public Works, OPW, building with infrastructure in place, and we are turning it into 12 units which will provide social housing to people in Limerick city. We recently signed for 12 units in Charleville. The infrastructure is already in place for most of the units we are signing for. We are bringing units back into use.

I am glad the Deputy gave me an opportunity to come back on disused commercial buildings. I fully support and agree with him. There is no way that the Peter McVerry Trust or any social housing provider wants to decimate towns and villages by taking out what little commercial activity they have. In the example I gave in Kilbeggan, we would not touch the main street. The main commercial activity in areas like Kilbeggan will remain untouched and people can continue to shop there. My point referred to commercial units on the edge of a town that have never been occupied. If they were occupied, they would compete with businesses in the town centre. Turning such buildings into nine units of housing brings more footfall into existing units.