I am advised by my officials that no ex-ante position has been requested from Eurostat from any of the entities referred. It is important to note that Home Building Finance Ireland ('HBFI') has been designed to provide funding to commercially viable developments at competitive market rates and as such both the entity and its activities are expected to satisfy the requirements of an off-balance sheet investment model.
Officials in the Department of Finance will engage formally with the CSO in relation to HBFI in the coming months as the legislation required to establish the entity is finalised.