Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 192: To ask the Minister for Finance the payment that is available in respect of a person (details supplied) who is experiencing severe mortgage difficulties and would like him to adopt the New Beginnings initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18982/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Government is fully aware of significant difficulties some homeowners are facing in meeting their mortgage obligations and it is committed to advancing appropriate measures to assist those mortgage holders who are experiencing real and genuine difficulty. One of these measures is the "mortgage to rent" initiative. This is a social housing response for people in the most distressed situation with their mortgage and whose home and household circumstances would be appropriate for social housing support. Significant progress has been made on this initiative by my colleague Ms Jan O'Sullivan, TD, Minister for Housing and Planning. A pilot scheme, utilising AIB and the Cluid housing association, has been developed by her Department and a number of cases are now being processed. In addition, some other "mortgage to rent" cases have been advanced in respect of mortgages provided by other lenders. It is the intention of Government to further advance this initiative in the coming months as part of the overall package of measures which are being put in place to address the mortgage arrears problem. These include the measures that are being overseen by the Central Bank as part of the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Strategies which the Bank has required all mortgage lenders to prepare, including the specification of a timeline for the implementation of specific initiatives such as mortgage to rent by banks as a means of assisting their customers in mortgage difficulty.