Mr. Conor O'Connell:

To add to that explanation, that figure of 70,000 to 80,000 units is constantly thrown out but it should be examined. The Senator mentioned the figure of 44,000 in the Dublin area. In our engagement with local authorities, one of them said that 90% of those existing planning permissions are for apartments. I understand that Dublin City Council has 21,000 planning permissions out there at the moment. In Dublin city, it is all apartments really. Unfortunately in recent times with the rise in interest rates, real estate investment trusts have not been investing in apartment developments to the scale they were. Builders and developers have been seeking funding for those homes and it has been difficult to procure. It must also be mentioned that we are in a state of flux at the moment with regard to the apartment investment market. There is the Croí Cónaithe scheme, the Project Tosaigh scheme and the €150,000 equity play from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in relation to-----