Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry we cut off Mr. Nicholson. I will give some time at the end of my contribution because he was making an important point.

It is clear from discussions at the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage that probably all of us have a little scepticism around any measures that are coming in terms of interfering with the property market. That is totally correct given the experience so many of us have had at local authority and Government level with property developers in the past, perhaps with unfinished housing estates and the property market generally. It will be critical for us to get the information to give us a certain comfort level. When we get the detail of the scheme, it will put us all in a different position. I hope that when we get the EIB report, it will help us all as well.

A report from the London School of Economics is referenced. One of our concerns as parliamentarians is that there is no one source of information on the EU scheme that has not been in some way criticised. Of course, that is natural because that is what happens when governments bring in schemes. One statement Mr. Nicholson made that stuck with me was the reference to hard-pushed middle-income earners. This question is one all of us on the committee are here to help to resolve.

Mr. Quinlan has gone through with much detail the schemes we have been focused on, namely, the cost rental and shared equity schemes. I have two quick questions on each of these. Will Mr. Quinlan give a little more information around why HAP tenants are excluded from cost-rental? Again, there is a push to try to get to the middle-income earner who might otherwise be caught in the private rental trap. Will Mr. Quinlan give us a little more information around how the long-term tenure leases are going to be built into schemes? What level of information is available at this stage?

My next question is on the shared equity scheme. Is it possible for Mr. Quinlan to spell out the €75 million that has been allocated? How will that be drawn down? When will it be available to be drawn down? What is it likely to yield in terms of house buyers and home buyers who would be able, hopefully, to afford their own homes? Is there information around how the cap will be determined at local authority level? When will that information be announced?

That is important from my perspective. My thanks to the officials for going through this. It is highly detailed and there is so much information on it. Mr. Quinlan, Mr. Nicholson and their team have shown themselves to be real experts and I really value that.