Mr. Robert Nicholson:

I will comment on a couple of items. Deputy Higgins asked about the shared equity scheme. What we are informing ourselves with around eligibility is effectively the first-time buyer new home median price for the past rolling 12 months. We are informing ourselves by geographic area. We are trying to ensure that development happens in the places where we want development.

I will bring in the point again around the suggestion that there are no income caps. By virtue of the handbrake of requiring that individuals avail of full eligible mortgages under the macroprudential rules, house price caps are set. If a buyer can afford a house at normal market prices, the buyer will not be eligible for the scheme. That is a fairly significant difference from the scheme in the UK. There is a handbrake relating to income caps and those income caps are discrete to the individual.

Again, the national planning framework influenced price caps. We intend to ensure that we have developments in the areas where we want them and that we do not have sprawl whenever we can prevent it.

I will come back to the cost rental question. A question was asked about HAP tenants. Effectively, there is a limited available budget for particular measures. Cost rental is explicitly targeted at earners, people who have the capacity to cover the cost rent and cover the development over the long term. Then, as it matures, it becomes more beneficial to the ultimate renter and more sustainable. That is the reason for the provision, in short.

There is also an element of ensuring we have a good blend of tenants across social, cost rental, private, affordable and whatever it may be. Indeed, some of the cost rental programmes we are working on will be approved. The 390 units referenced yesterday are in developments where there will also be social tenants.

I will comment on leases and the types of leases. We are working off security of tenure. Again, we will learn from this as we go in the roll-out of the cost rental equity loan. Part 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act provides long-term tenure for individuals. Typically, six-year leases would be the intent. Again, we will learn from that and it is our opening gambit in terms of ensuring we can get these schemes up and running and in place.