Mr. Paul Lemass:

Absolutely. In the long-term strategy, we are very mindful of other Government policies, such as town centre first, in addition to balanced regional development and the need to use vacant property. The long-term strategy will set out the range of options. Digs comprises a real possibility, too. To back up the statistics of the Secretary General, in July there were 1,225 units available with digs accommodation. We ran a campaign over the summer to promote room rental, specifically for students, and at the end of October there were 2,339 beds being advertised on Studentpad and other websites like that. That figure does not include the beds that were advertised but removed when taken up, so there is still capacity.

The Chair referred to the investment capacity of approximately €400 million that has been agreed. That is a funding capacity, which the HFA has put in place. It is a useful funding capability. We would like to nail out the long-term policy and methodology, which includes demand projections and assesses the full range of options for accommodating people.