Mr. Liam Ward:

I do not have a clear line of sight on the timelines within the Housing Agency. I think in excess of 350 applications have been transferred to the agency. We have received three new applications as of the new scheme being available. It was opened on Monday this week. We are receiving a considerable volume of calls and queries, as we had expected.

Regarding staffing, I acknowledge what Mr. Ó Coigligh said about Department support. We have an existing complement of staff that we know will be under pressure. Additional staff have been recruited and are due to join the team in light of the expected increase in applications. It is something we will keep under review with the Department in terms of additional resources.