Ms Lorna Cahill:

We have said all along we really welcome the register. We would love to see the register put in place for two years. If it was there, it would give Threshold and everybody else here an accurate view. I will give an example. My granny flat is listed as an entire unit. For Threshold or anyone else looking on a platform tonight, they think it is a house which was available and has now been taken off the housing market. It is not. I list it as an entire unit to entice guests who want an entire unit. They do not want to stay in my house. People have said in the past that 12,000 houses would immediately become available but if we had the register it would become very evident that 12,000 properties would not become available the day the register opens. It has been said that this is overly simplistic. It needs to go into more depth on types of properties, whether they are available and ownership of the properties. I gave two examples of houses where owners live abroad but they are still their primary homes in Ireland. Does that count as a primary home in Ireland? We do not know. We should have the register first and then look at the planning required. We always thought we had the six months but that is now gone. Register first, and then planning 12 or 24 months down the road. That is just my opinion.