Mr. Coil?n O'Reilly:

It was five years but we are now looking at a period of time of two years. However, it depends on the specific case. There is a general rule of thumb, but everything is done on a case-by-case basis and looking at the situation. As Deputy Ó Broin knows, every case is different, every case has merits, and every case has difficulties. We are very good at doing that. We have done that for a very long time. We engage with the Deputy or the councillor and we try to help as much as we can.

In some cases, which the Deputy mentioned, a single person might be in a three- or four-bedroom house. That does not make sense from the point of view of the State or the local authority, and it is not fair. There is also a moral hazard, which we mentioned in our submission, in regard to people who have been on the list for a very long time. We have to be really careful in balancing acquisitions under tenants in situ.