Mr. Patrick Davitt:

A European report issued only in recent weeks on building in Ireland and what people expect in Ireland as opposed to in many other parts of Europe. When I was growing up, ten of us lived in a four-roomed cottage with two rooms downstair, two rooms upstairs and no bathroom or services of any description. Now, when people go to look at houses with auctioneers, they ask whether there is no en suite in the main bedroom or this or that, which is fair enough because that is what we have come to expect. Because we got enough money to buy these properties in 2004, 2005 and 2006, everybody now wants the same types of property. As the Americans say, it is the American dream to own your own house, which I suppose is everybody's dream, but for this type of property we are speaking about, we believe there are many suitable clients provided they can get the money to buy the property. It is going to cost them a lot less, first, to get the property. Second, they can get a grant to carry out the renovation and, third, they can do it little by little. Many people will take on such a project, although it will not be for the faint-hearted, and they will love taking it on. They will think a lot more of the house at the end of the day than they would of buying a three-bedroomed, semi-detached house.

The answer to the Senator's question is "Yes". There are many customers out there to buy those properties. Even at a time - neither bust nor boom - when property prices fall, if that is to come at a future date, many people will still prefer to go down that route than buy new. Of course, there will always be a range of new houses, old houses, timber-framed houses and so on, and there will always be picky customers who want this, that or the other, but I have no doubt the purchasers will be there.

Mr. Kennedy might wish to add to that.