Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I must go to the Seanad soon so I will probably have to leave before the witnesses conclude their replies. I was not expecting to hear what I am hearing on this issue. I thought this was a no-brainer, which is the impression given in the media. The thought occurred to me this is like a "Prime Time" or "Five Seven Live" Christmas special, with all of the top financial guests here today and a couple of politicians. I hand it to all five citizens who have come before the committee. They make a very valuable contribution to the national debate on this area, not only here but in the media and newspapers and in their academic and business life. It is much appreciated by me and, I am sure, by all committee members.

Mr. Burgess raised questions about the evidence Genworth gave this morning on the number of mortgages. The committee should check this and write to Genworth with the concerns raised by Mr. Burgess and try to get an answer. He raised a big issue. Mr. Burgess also mentioned allowing early access to pension funds. Would this mean in practice allowing parents approaching pension age early access to their pension funds to pay for a child's deposit?