Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The scheme is designed for first-time buyers of new houses or new apartments. By definition, anybody in negative equity has a new house or apartment already. The Deputy is asking me to use the scheme for the purchasers of second homes. I do not think this is the scheme for that, although I appreciate the problem the Deputy has identified. We have had some discussions with the Central Bank about this and it has changed the prudential rules. In the context of financial regulations the Central Bank has a prudential and consumer protection remit through the provision of new lending to borrowers in negative equity. The programme for Government included a commitment to support the Central Bank's regulation of negative equity mortgage products that allow home owners to move house while still in negative equity. In practice, the Central Bank has removed some of the conditions from the prudential rules for persons in negative equity to allow them to borrow in excess of the guidelines. It is in that space that assistance can be given to persons in negative equity to allow them to purchase. We can discuss that further but the Central Bank has taken the first steps to doing it. It might be a better avenue than trying to adapt this particular scheme, which is for first-time buyers of new homes, to second-time buyers who have negative equity difficulties, which they undoubtedly have.