Mr. Seanie Lambe:

At the moment, the housing trust has 72 properties in Shelbourne Wharf, Hanover Quay and that area. A management company was initially appointed by DCC with which we were happy to work. We have a good relationship with its representatives and we are happy with the level of service that they are giving the people. We are happy, therefore, to leave the situation as is.

We do not have any great ambition to be the owners of huge numbers of properties but we want to protect as many of the properties as we can in order that they are accessible through DCC's housing waiting list. There are other issues about housing management agents, which are problematic.

I know that the Acting Chairman is very familiar with the points system of housing allocation used by Dublin City Council. The housing associations have introduced another element, which is an interview system. That is a two-sided coin. Of course, everybody wants to be sure that only people who are going to look after the properties get into them, but if one automatically excludes people with any kind of problem or difficulty, one needs another way of addressing their needs. In the last docklands masterplan, we introduced the idea, well known and well practised within the city, of supported housing, which has been operated by Focus and other agencies, where people with difficulties can be supported through a process of learning how to budget and to look after children, etc. It is high-cost, but it is one way in which such needs could be approached.

On the viability of the trust in having 72 units, we are not looking for profits.