Mr. Brendan O'Connor:

I will speak briefly about this issue, but I am not an expert on the mortgage to rent solution I will, however, try to deal with the principal obstacles.

There is a set of rules around the type of house that is suitable for a mortgage to rent solution, including the number of bedrooms versus the number of people in the family and whether the house is over or under-occupied. These rules are arcane and it is difficult to look forward and say whether someone qualifies. Often, we can say customers look like they are suitable for a mortgage to rent solution, but two to three months down the road we find there is additional family income, apart from that of the mortgage holder, that will preclude them. Therefore, to eliminate the complications, we need to simplify the rules and make the product easier for people to understand.

There are also issues around the housing agencies. The issue is not with the agencies, but they must buy houses that fulfil all of the regulations in terms of council or social housing. Therefore, they will not buy the house as is but only with all of the modifications that need to be made, etc. From a bank perspective, the house could be sold on the open market and these costs would not have to be paid. There are valuation issues; many people are involved and various steps must be taken. It is not just one issue but a combination of them. We met Clúid a couple of weeks ago in this regard. As banks, we can get better in this area. It is a complex process, but there is nothing that could not be solved by getting eight or ten people who care around a table to figure out how to make the process smoother.