I will ask the Taoiseach about two schemes announced by the Government in conjunction with the ending of the eviction ban. The first is the tenant in situ scheme whereby the local authority can acquire a house with a sitting tenant and rent it back to that tenant at a reasonable rent. The second is the first refusal scheme whereby a tenant has first refusal in the event of a landlord wanting to sell a house. Will the Taoiseach tell me whether those schemes are operational as we speak? For example, can a local authority now negotiate the purchase of such a property from a landlord who is willing to sell? If a landlord announces today that he is going to sell, does a tenant have first refusal? What happens if somebody outbids the tenant? If those schemes are not operational now, when will they come into operation?

There are three different schemes involved. The first is the tenant in situ scheme with respect to social housing tenants. That is in operation. Dublin City Council alone is in the process of purchasing approximately 300 properties. We are confident we will meet the target of 1,500 homes purchased under the tenant in situ scheme this year. We may even have to go higher if we are able to purchase more. From 1 April, that is being extended to people who do not qualify for social housing but who do qualify for cost rental. We are in talks with approved housing bodies to make that real within a week or two. First refusal is more complicated and will require primary legislation, which will take a number of months. We are looking at different models of how this is done in different countries. It is done differently in different countries. I will not go into too much detail but there are different ways of doing this and the scheme is going to take a few months to establish.