Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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Second, I have a question on the change to the incremental tenant purchase scheme. The Minister has communicated the change clearly, that both contributory and non-contributory pensions are now to be regarded as income, rather than as social welfare, for the purposes of potential eligibility for tenant purchase. As well as this, the threshold has been reduced. What is not clear, however, is that there is another other rule that 50% of a person's income must come from earnings, but they cannot make cash payment. They still have to have a mortgage finance of more than 90%. The wording that the Minister is using to clarify the position vis-à-vispensioners is something like, “where they have the means to do so”. Does that refer to where they have access to mortgage finance? Has the Government taken a decision, or is the Housing Agency aware of a decision by the Government, to allow cash purchases for pensioners? If they are not allowing that, then it neither matters that a pension is treated as income, nor that it is €13,000. A person is not going to get a mortgage at the age of 65 or 70. Does the Housing Agency have any clarity on that? We have not been able to get it from the Department.