Mr. Cathal Callan:

I will touch on two questions, one of which was on the future capacity of the sector and whether there was a ceiling and the other of which was on how far down the road we have come. Clúid has a turnover of €12 million to €13 million, assets worth €570 million or €580 million and loans to match that amount. As an entity, we have quite a small turnover. How far we have moved in recent years has been significant. We went from being an agency that was 100% grant funded to one that has actively sought financing.

Our capacity to grow and develop is premised on our stakeholders and the support we are provided. One of the key elements is the one under discussion, namely, regulation. In any model that works within Europe, the key element to its growth and development has been regulation. The Housing Finance Agency, HFA, has put a regulatory element in place for Clúid and other AHBs. We have hurdles to jump before we can access finance. This gives the HFA security as to our ability to perform and meet the loan commitments that we are undertaking. Without regulation, the commercial sector would not have the confidence to invest in us.

We have come a significant distance from where we started. However, we are still financially some way from where we have been asked to be, that is, being capable of meeting a significant amount of general needs housing. What can help us achieve that is regulation, the release of charges on properties and the realisation that the sector is not all the same, in that it contains some entities that have the capacity to grow and develop and others that will remain as they are, namely, small housing associations.