Mr. Pat Doyle:

We are full. The hostel has been over-prescribed.

We also need accommodation in Kildare. The only option for a person who lives in north Kildare but seeks a homeless service is to go to Dublin city or south Kildare because there is nothing available in north Kildare. There is also Maynooth, Leixlip and Celbridge.

These are huge population hubs without a single hostel among them - I live there. As for how much housing is needed, the Deputy was probably talking about a national figure and at the moment, we are regional. We are Dublin-based and are going into Wicklow and Kildare at the moment. Moreover, we are hoping to do some business with our colleagues in Limerick but I probably am not allowed to say that in this room. However, we have written to Limerick County Council and have offered our services. In particular, we wish to go into communities such as Moyross and other estates like that, because that is what we grew out of, namely, Ballymun and other estates. The Deputy should remember that the only regeneration project to be continued was the one in Limerick and so we would love to do some work there but that is end of the pitch. As for how many units we need, I would say 2,000 to 3,000 units and not 10,000 units. The Deputy may be aware of different figures nationally. In Dublin however, were 2,000 units to be brought online annually and if we knew they were coming online for the next three or four years, we could do a huge amount to accommodate families and to bring down the numbers in hostels, thereby allowing the most vulnerable at least to get a hostel bed. I hope that answers the question.