Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the witnesses. The Government's number one priority ahead of anything else is the provision of housing. If, by the introduction of this legislation, I was convinced we would achieve 12,000 additional long-term rental properties coming into the housing market, I would be far more supportive of it.

I refer to Mr. Redmond's point about the difficulty with data. When Deputy Cannon and I asked questions of the Departments of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media they finally admitted that these were back-of-the envelope calculations. Mr. O'Mara Walsh says that in the cities some long-term rental accommodation may become available, but if what is proposed by the Government at the moment proceeds, and that it is in the absence of awareness of the planning guidelines, how many properties do the witnesses believe will transfer from the short-term letting market into the long-term rental market? What evidence might they have to support that?

I appreciate that Mr. Redmond has been looking for that data, but on the basis of what is there at the moment, given that he is at the coalface in terms of dealing with some of the issues, does he believe we would go anywhere near the 12,000?