Mr. Tom O'Brien:

It shows that for every three investment or buy-to-let properties that are sold only one re-enters the system. One can see that with the amount of buy-to-let sales that are taking place at present. There is a decrease in the housing stock available for buy-to-let. I am sorry if it is not an easy message to accept but that is what is driving the rental increases. It is a decrease of stock where people want to live. In the vast majority of cases, people generally want to live close to amenities and in city centre locations. Unfortunately, because there has been a dearth of building since 2006 or 2007, as opposed to 2008 mentioned by many commentators, we now have a situation where there is very little supply.

I will verge off tangent a little but will do so on the basis that it refers to some of Deputy Coppinger's points as well. On capital allowances schemes, I absolutely disagree that they have not been a success. Consider the number of people currently being accommodated in Dublin city centre in section 23 properties that are now out of the tax net and the allowances are finished and gone. There are thousands of apartments in Cork Street, on the quays, in Dublin 1 and Gardiner Street that are housing people and we are very glad to have that stock at present. If that stock was not there, there would be many more people homeless. Those properties, in the main, are affordable properties. They are not properties that have been acquired by real estate investment trusts, REITs, or properties that are commanding €1,500 to €2,000 per month in rent. They are affordable properties.

I absolutely reject the suggestion that capital allowances in areas of high demand are inappropriate. Of course capital allowances in places such as Carrick-on-Shannon and other places where there is no demand are inappropriate but in circumstances where there is a demand for housing, I believe the allowances schemes, such as even the living over the shop scheme mentioned by Deputy O'Dowd which was very useful and is now discontinued, have a role to play in the housing crisis. At present, we do not have private investors investing in property.

That is borne out by the figures which show that three people are leaving for every person who is coming in. We need to-----