Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

-----€20 million will go to an activation fund which will involve an open call for innovative proposals that have the capacity to provide work, education and training; €14 million is being made available, in addition to €26 million from the EU, for supports to redundant workers in eligible companies under the European globalisation adjustment fund; €9.5 million is being made available as support measures for the food industry to enhance the competitiveness of this key indigenous industry; and €36 million will be allocated to an employers job incentive scheme giving PRSI exemption to encourage employers to take people off the unemployment register. The Minister for Social and Family Affairs will announce further details.

This will bring the total places available for the unemployed to more than 180,000. We are already providing substantial supports to employers through the stabilisation fund and the temporary employment subsidy scheme which will cost €165 million in 2010. In line with the Government's commitment to enhance the efficiency of the State's investment in science and technology it is my intention to create a single stream of funding in this area. To advance the smart economy, it is essential that the State secure the maximum commercial return from its substantial investment in research, science and innovation. Details of the new arrangements will appear in the Revised Estimates volume to be published in the early part of the new year.

Mortgages

All sides of this House share a concern for those who face difficulties meeting their mortgage repayments. It is important to remember that only 20 homes have been repossessed by the institutions covered under the Government guarantee in the first three quarters of this year. Mainstream mortgage lenders have adopted a responsible position towards their customers. Most recently the Irish Banking Federation issued a statement of intent which provides that where a customer in difficulty adheres to a mutually acceptable arrangement with their lender, the lender will not initiate any form of legal action against them in relation to their mortgage.

The renewed programme for Government includes a commitment to introduce new measures to protect families having difficulty with their mortgages. As a first step in this process I have asked the Financial Regulator to examine the extension of the six month moratorium on legal proceedings already in the code of conduct on mortgage arrears to 12 months for all lenders. Everyone has to play his or her part and I will require the banking industry to engage with Government to find innovative solutions to ease the burden for affected homeowners. In the supplementary budget, I refocused mortgage interest relief on those who bought their homes at the peak of the market. As a support to homeowners who now find themselves in negative equity, I am providing that where entitlement to the relief would expire in 2010 or after, they will now continue to receive it up to the end of 2017.

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