Mr. Andrew McDowell:

Yes. We are very interested in solar energy. We have financed about 70% of all offshore wind projects in Europe and are the bank of choice for promoters in that area. We are doing huge amounts of solar energy projects now, including in some parts of northern Europe. Obviously, the biggest projects we are doing are in north Africa and southern Europe but it is making increasing economic sense, even without subvention, in northern Europe. We think solar energy will transform the energy industry over the next five to ten years and it raises all sorts of questions for other forms of power, the economics of distribution networks and so on. We are very excited about the possibilities and are one of the biggest financiers globally of solar energy projects.

In terms of Deputy Broughan's question regarding social housing, we do a significant amount of financing of social housing in Ireland. We have lent about €350 million to the Housing Finance Agency in two transactions over the past three years and that is on balance sheet and, therefore, Government borrowing. The Housing Finance Agency likes to borrow from the EIB because we are cheaper than the NTMA and very flexible on drawdowns. There is a significant energy efficiency component in that lending which makes it very attractive for us in terms of our targets. We are also doing the first social housing PPP in Europe in Ireland. This is the first time we have done a PPP for social housing and we are at a very advanced stage with the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA, in contracting for three different bundles of social housing in Dublin, Cork and another urban area yet to be decided upon. That is an interesting transaction from an Irish perspective because it allows the Government to pay for those assets over their lifetime, as opposed to having to pay for them all over the next two to three years when they have a 30-year lifespan.

The other area of social housing in which we invest heavily in other parts of Europe but is more difficult in Ireland is through funds. In France, the Netherlands, Belgium and other countries we provide debt financing to funds that build social housing.

The economics can be different in other European countries where the affordable rent can be at a level sufficient to finance the debt servicing costs. In Ireland, the social rents are lower and there is no category of affordable rents or housing in Ireland sufficient to collect enough rent to pay the debt servicing costs. As such, it is a more difficult proposition in Ireland. Nonetheless, we are having engagements with the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and ISIF on the potential for a social housing fund in Ireland.