Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That will bring it to two Sinn Féin slots and two Government slots. My equilibrium buzz is happy. I will focus on the third theme in my question about why landlords are leaving the markets or, as has been asked, are they leaving the markets? It is interesting that nearly everything we talked about points to the fact that housing is a connected infrastructure. We talked about giving landlords access to the Croí Conaithe funds for derelict properties, but if we did that it would push out owner-occupiers from having purchasing ability in that sector. Equally, when a landlord sells a property, it could often be purchased by a first-time buyer. We need the rental sector, but we also need the supply of sale for owner-occupiers. It shows how interconnected the whole thing is. That is why I disagree with Deputy Ó Broin on HAP tenants having access to cost rental. I argued for it at the time and have been persuaded otherwise because HAP tenants have access to the social housing building programme, while non-HAP tenants do not. We know far more social housing houses will be built than cost rental houses; therefore, it would be unfair on people who do not have access to the social housing building programme to have more restricted access to the cost-rental programme. In the long term, I think the Deputy is right; in the short term, it is about balance.

I have talked about why landlords are leaving. The IPOA has articulately put forward the concerns their members have. I ask Mr. Davitt about when they come to him to say "That's it. I'm finished." I have noticed an increase in notices to quit. In August and September in my clinics, it has been a factor. Is that Mr. Davitt's experience in terms of people selling? Second, we have talked about regulations and so on. What is the profile of the person coming to Mr. Davitt who is selling? Why are they leaving the market? Of course, they are articulating the reasons that have been raised, but if they were changed, would people make different decisions and not leave the market or are they at the end of a life cycle? Help us understand if there is an exodus from the market, if it is different from normal and why people are making that decision.