Dr. Kieran McQuinn:

Those were relevant questions. I agree with the point made by Dr. Healy on the mitigation strategy, which was one of the first issues raised. There clearly are structural issues in the housing market regardless of Brexit. We are all familiar with them. We have an issue with the structural demand for housing. As we have estimated it at somewhere in the region of 25,000 units to 30,000 units are required each year. This year, however, we are only likely to build in the region of 18,000 units. That is not just a year-on-year issue. It has been accumulating over many years, unfortunately, and is a significant issue. For the past three or four years, we observed the marked slowdown in the number of social housing units being provided and that there was an urgent need to address that. Unfortunately, that issue also accumulated over a number of years and it is not something that can be addressed in any one year, unfortunately. It will take years.

On mitigation, we pointed out that if there is a reduction in private development, or the number of units coming from the private sector, then, ideally, the State would be in a position to step in and escalate the level of housing supply it is providing. That is the desired outcome. The only issue with this - and something we have to mention - is that Brexit is also going to have an impact on the public finances, which is ultimately what is going to fund the increased provision of social housing.

If Brexit has a significantly adverse impact on the public finances - as it more than likely will if there is a very dramatic Brexit, such as a no-deal Brexit or even a World Trade Organisation-style Brexit - then that will impact on the public coffers. The public coffers, in turn, are where the extra funding for housing would come from. That has to be taken into consideration as well. As already stated, ideally, the State would be in a position to step in a countercyclical fashion and be able to boost and increase the rate of housing supply. That is, therefore, one consideration to raise in respect of that issue.