Mr. Pat Doyle:

On the issue of compulsory purchase by local authorities, we have not looked at the legislation but we are aware that it has not been tested in the courts. In our view, one local authority needs to act as the lead in this regard. What we have been seeking is a mapping exercise in one city or town to allow for identification of available stock there. Some landlords will want to do deals. The Peter McVerry Trust returned 39 voids to use last year on behalf of the local authority in Dublin. The average turnaround time per void was 12 to 18 weeks, the funding for which was secured by the trust. There was no cost to the Exchequer. We believe a similar exercise in the private market and further engagement with landlords is necessary. We also believe that where landlords refuse to engage, those cases be tested in court. Somebody needs to test the provision in court to see if change is required. The former Minister with responsibility for housing said that there were constitutional and other issues around CPO in respect of private property. However, the provision has never been tested in the courts. We should test it.

On the question regarding what the trust does, we had 669 people in our care last night, 145 of whom are in our housing stock. We are not into empire building. We do not want to become a large approved housing body. We became an approved housing body because some of our most vulnerable and challenging clients could not get access to the local authorities or some of the other big housing bodies.

We became one ourselves to give them a key to the door. Last night, 145 people had a key to their own front door. They are no longer clients of the Peter McVerry Trust, but tenants of the trust. We also see the need for specialist providers like ourselves. One of those clients was a person we picked up on St. Stephen's Green. He is in a unit off Merrion Square. He has a Peter McVerry Trust addiction counsellor and psychiatric nurse and access to a trust therapist if he needs one. It is possible to give housing to the most vulnerable.

We have 19 children living with us who are under the care of the State, between the ages of 12 and 18. If they come in between those ages, the State will pay about €500,000 towards their care. We see no sense in putting them into homelessness. They already have the label of being in care and sending them towards homelessness services is another label and another failure. We want to see them going straight into housing. It is all about housing access. We have given over 10% of our current housing to children in care. They need more support - otherwise it will turn into a party - but that does not mean they cannot be supported or that they have to end up in homeless services.

We have 25 drug-free beds for people coming out of treatment. Those making the step to go through treatment should not also have to go back to homeless hostels or be around people who are actively using.

The project the Chairman mentioned is our specialist programme for people coming out of prison. This is a very low-key programme; we do not talk about it too much. There are housing units scattered around the Dublin city area, primarily. We go into the prisons and know that the individuals are already deemed as homeless, as they will have stated to social protection, the chaplaincy service or sometimes to the probation services that they will be homeless upon release. Some of them will have done very long sentences and are therefore also slightly institutionalised. Their best chance of survival and of not becoming repeat offenders when they come out is not to go into a hostel where they have to be out during the day and all of that, but to go into their own housing unit and let the work begin from there. We have 22 people in units around the city. We give them up to six months and then get them into private rented accommodation.

That is why we want to see a rapid build of student accommodation, as we said in our statement. The highest population of young people in the country and the highest birth rates are coming from Kildare now. We run services there. Maynooth University is soaking up the private rented accommodation in Maynooth, Celbridge, Leixlip and Clane. At the same time, we have 14 young people in a hostel in Kildare. I am just taking that as an example. All of those 14 people are ready for private rented. They are all young and single. The avenue would always have been private rented accommodation for them but they cannot get near that market as it is all taken up by the university. In the future, whenever planning permission is given for extensions to universities, it should include modular, rapid-build units that can be built through a public-private partnership. It does not have to cost the State. The University of Limerick is a great example of providing large-scale student accommodation. Greater student accommodation provision would free up the market. It is the same with St. Patrick's College in Drumcondra. We have a lot of young people from Dublin's north side needing private rented accommodation, yet between St. Pat's and DCU there is nothing to be got out that way.

Going back to our specialist programme for prisoners, primarily the market for them would be the private rented market. We have 22 in our care at the moment and last year we had 48. The only blockage for us in taking more of those people from institutions is the move into private rented. We want to see a vibrant private rental market again. One of the ways to do that is to give greater supports to landlords. Another way is to take some of the other cohorts out.

In response to Deputy Durkan's point, we do not want to become the job of the banks. However, we heard from Ulster Bank this week that 2,900 loans are going to be handed over, possibly to a vulture fund. Some 900 of them are family homes and we know one of those families. The family has offered to pay €1,500 a month to the bank but the bank is saying no.

The bank will sell that loan and write it off. Whoever buys the property will probably pay €1,800 per month on a mortgage. We are going to spend €45 million this year on hotel accommodation. I am not saying that the trust would take over 2,900 loans but we could, as Deputy O'Dowd said, ramp it up. We would certainly like the trust expand to approximately 600 specialist units for vulnerable people. There are others, such as the local authorities and approved housing bodies.

I will conclude. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government will shortly announce two capital assistance schemes, the purpose of which will be to acquire properties. These loans could be bought and we could keep people in their homes very quickly. Let us not forget that they are being sold very cheaply as well. It could be a great saving for the State.