James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I wish to seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 32 to raise a matter of national importance, namely, the threat to countrywide home ownership with the number of new mortgages given out in the third quarter falling again, a 56.4% decrease from the same period last year and a 4% reduction from the second quarter of this year. This is a worrying trend, combined as it is with a massive increase in the demand for rent supplement, which has increased by 24% since last December, with 91,600 currently receiving this payment. This is a waste of scarce resources which should be utilised to place people in long-term housing.

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