I want to ask about the commitment in the programme for Government regarding the cost of housing rents. There are many people caught in the middle who cannot get on a local authority waiting list because they are over the €25,000 or €26,000 threshold and they cannot get a mortgage. These are low to middle-income workers who are caught in that bind. We know there is a huge housing crisis, that it is difficult to get private rented accommodation, that people have no security of tenure and that rents are sky-high, as demonstrated by the report this week by www.daft.ie.

What I want to highlight for the Tánaiste is the fact that the Nevin Institute has put forward a proposal. There is money with the credit unions, namely, €8 billion in deposits. There is money in pension funds which is earning 0.5% interest. There is European Investment Bank, EIB, money. There is money available. I am not saying that there is a magic wand, but most Members agree with the cost-to-rent scheme contained in the programme for Government. There is significant political support for it. Such a scheme is badly needed. What progress has been made in bringing that scheme into being in order that we might have developments of cost-to-rent apartments and housing built?

The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government has announced a series of initiatives to increase housing supply and to make every effort to ensure that we can make rents more affordable and manageable and make social housing available. He will be making further announcements in the coming weeks on a number of housing initiatives-----

I asked about the cost-to-rent scheme.

-----and no doubt he will be considering the points the Deputy makes in respect of that initiative.