Mr. Frank Curran:

We are looking at the legacy loans, as I mentioned earlier. The first step is to look at all those land banks and see what can be developed for social and affordable housing. That is the best way to deal with it. At the end of that exercise, there may well be land that is unlikely to be developed for various reasons, and the type of discussion we are having with the Department and the Housing Finance Agency is on how to clear those loans. There are a number of options. There could be another scheme. The loans could be cleared by the Department or paid over time. There could be an arrangement between ourselves, the local authorities, the Department and the Housing Finance Agency. That is all up for discussion and we are analysing all those land banks.

On the unsold affordable housing units, there were 29,000 units built and the vast majority of people are very happy with the deal they got. We get that information anecdotally. Despite the scale of the crash, which was unprecedented in Ireland, only 2,000 remained unsold. Those that were unsold are now fully occupied by social housing tenants. They were leased to approved housing bodies and occupied by social housing tenants. The lease then paid the loan. We are in a position now where we must look at what to do with those loans. We are looking at whether we should continue and transfer them to the approved housing body or what is the best way to deal with that. There is a working group between the Department and ourselves that is looking to resolve that matter.

On affordability, the way it is set out in the Bill is that if somebody can afford a mortgage to purchase a house on the private market, he or she will not be eligible. The plan is to consider what a person can afford, and provide a discount in respect of what he or she can afford and the price on the market. That is how the discount would be provided. It would be based on the individual and not the individual's circumstances. There is a maximum discount of, I understand, 40% set out in the notes on the Bill.