Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I will take the matter of the intervention first. I did not state it would apply to somebody who could not get a loan because he or she could not make the repayments. I put on the record that this applies to people who are in a position to make repayments but do not have the 20% deposit.

This has nothing to do with a bail-out of builders, involvement in the construction industry or a housing market correction. It is a short-term measure to assist people who have already taken a decision to buy a house and who cannot get a mortgage because they not have the deposit. We have targeted those people.

Distinctions have been made in the past regarding new and second-hand homes. There was an issue with the stamp duty which applied to first-time buyers of second-hand homes, and when the Government changed this some time ago some people felt it risked raising prices, which we do not want. We do not want to get into raising the prices of homes or involving people in such a process.

It is a targeted scheme without incentive. It will be there for that category of people for six to 12 months and will be reviewed.

See this speech in context