Mrs. Alice Doyle:

Deputy Kerrane, I concur totally with what Mr. Rushe has said about the ability of credit unions to play a great role. We must be very careful because in many cases young people will look for these loans but they will not have security. That is always a worry down the line but credit unions do have a role to play. Young people also seek mortgages in order to buy these properties. It can be quite difficult to secure a mortgage on the grounds that you are buying a derelict house, and must have the work completed within 13 months. There are so many restrictions that a young person will find it very difficult to secure a mortgage. Even if people can secure a bridging loan but will still have to secure a mortgage, which is over a very long period, that is going to be quite a gap to bridge. The 13-month rule is a big problem because if the work is not completed within 13 months then any mortgage is in difficulty. If people are able to secure a mortgage in the first place, they will have been approved for a mortgage based on the fact of receiving a grant. All of that is assuming that the mortgage companies or the banks allow people to get a mortgage based on the fact they are going to get a grant, which is another supposition. We can only presume that that might happen. We cannot be sure that the banks will accept a mortgage application knowing that there is a condition attached to the scheme. We have noticed on a couple of occasions around the country that people have been told in advance of applying to buy these houses that if there is not an ESB or water connection to the old house, it could take quite a period for either or both to be connected, and that can be a difficulty. There is a long waiting list to get connected to the ESB in rural areas, unlike in city areas.

Another issue is the fact that septic tanks require planning permission. We all know of delays in planning permission being granted for new houses. We all know how long it takes for planning permission to be granted for very ordinary sites where straight plans have been submitted to the county council. The length of delay varies as counties have different things in their development plans as to why one cannot do certain things. I would be very worried, particularly for old houses, because planning permission is sought for what is an awkward house when compared with a straight build. In addition, as someone mentioned earlier, each area has certain characteristics which leads to restrictions. For example, there are huge restrictions in counties Wicklow, Kildare and Galway. If there are many restrictions on a new build then there will be huge restrictions associated with old builds and even access to getting in and out of these sites because many of them come out of farmyards. Some of them will even be coming out of sites where a fence may have been closed up as the access route led on to a main road so people are looking for planning permission to get back out on to a road and we all know how difficult it is to get those. I have outlined some of the issues that we need to look at.