Mr. Brendan McDonagh:

The Deputy is correct is that normally functioning economies generally have 10%-12% of GDP in the construction sector. NAMA would be very supportive of that. In terms of Construction 2020, we have committed to taking action to try to restore activity to that level. NAMA has two objectives. First, as requested by Government and the Minister, we are to sell assets and use that money to pay off the debt to rid the State of contingent liabilities. We are doing that. Second, NAMA has been asked to set aside money from its internally generated resources to deliver more residential units - 4,500 by 2016 - and to obtain planning for an additional 20,000 units through the Docklands SDZ. To date, NAMA has put more than €1 billion into the construction sector in Ireland. It has also committed to putting an additional €3 billion into the sector between now and its end of life.

A figure of €4 billion is a substantial amount in the context of the Irish economy where GDP is €160 billion. We are playing our part in trying to help the construction sector.

The reality is that there are different buyers for different types of assets. As I said, almost 90% of the buyers of assets are US funds. Some funds are only interested in trading assets, such as hotels or offices, and generating income from them. Others are interested in investing additional money in assets to build houses because they see an opportunity emerging in Dublin where there is demand for residential housing. We are aware of a number of funds which have purchased assets from NAMA and other banks and are investing in construction activity because they see that as generating the best commercial return for them.

Some 926 units of social housing have been delivered to date. We are very confident that we will deliver over 1,000 units by the end of 2014. We have a dedicated team working on this every day. We are making sure they are delivered as quickly as possible.