Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I have a comment for the committee and a final question. To put this in context, and I am not expecting a response on this point, this is an area that has gone from less than 1,000 people 40 years ago to probably touching 20,000 in the last census. It is a massive commuter town and everyone in that area is effectively in the city property market. It is an overwhelmingly urban area, despite being under Cork County Council, and it is the same for every electoral area bounding it. There is also the massive industrial area around Ringaskiddy and every pharmaceutical company we can think of is based there. Rents are very high. Yet, if we go south of the river in Carrigaline, which is almost half of the town, rents can increase by any amount possible and it is similar in Crosshaven and Ballygarvan, which are in similar situations.

I will finish with a simple question. I know the Residential Tenancies Board does not do this and I appreciate the point Ms Gallagher made about the imperfection of data once it gets down to a certain level. Would the Residential Tenancies Board have the ability to identify the rate of rent increase in an area smaller than an electoral area if it was asked, leaving aside the imperfections of getting down to that smaller area?