Ms Orla Hegarty:

I have a number of comments. First, it is important to remember the distorted social housing need for one- and two-bedroom apartments at the moment is a factor of how the waiting list and backlog have been managed and that, in terms of sustainable housing in all communities, we need a mix of homes. It is not true to say we have a surfeit of family homes and we only need small apartments. That is a recipe for unsustainable growth in the city and, again, pushing families into the commuter belt. As I said, that is 50% of households.

It is very important that meeting the backlog is balanced out with the needs of family formation and new families, and that adequate-sized homes also accommodate different care needs and disability needs over a lifetime, which are not met by very small housing units.

If the Chairman could give me two minutes, I will read the acronyms into the record if that would be helpful to the committee.