Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I just wonder how the Central Bank can control, oversee and influence what is happening in that area if a combination of lenders are involved and given they may be affected in one way or another by actions or by developments in the industry outside the jurisdiction.

This whole housing issue is a national emergency. We need to do something in a very great hurry. As Deputy Healy-Rae has said, it has to be affordable and it has to be within the reach of the people. In the last session, reference was made to countless schemes being available that are very helpful. It is true that one or two of them are helpful, but there are other schemes available that do not work and never did work. My office deals with a lot of housing applicants and there are problems that come up regularly. A person may qualify for X to solve their housing problem but is told he or she can only be given Y, which is about 50% of what is needed, because the person may not qualify on aid grounds or whatever and perhaps does not have a sufficient deposit. This is a problem and they are not isolated cases. These issues happen quite regularly. People are crying out for assistance and I do not know where it is going to come from. I must emphasise that, like Deputy Healy-Rae, my office deals with a lot of applicants so we would have a good general knowledge of how the system is working or is not working at all. Perhaps some means could be found to introduce sufficient schemes, co-ordinated or whatever, to ensure the public can gain access to much-needed mortgages for their homes. If people turn off as they seek to rely on the traditional institutions, they will leave the country. That is the problem.