Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. In earlier questions on this matter, the Minister of State said the home choice programme was a response to the credit crunch. We know the credit crunch was caused by a number of factors, one being light touch regulation and over-lending as a result and an over-valuing of property in the property market and loans being granted on the basis that properties would increase in value indefinitely. To qualify for this programme, one has to have received two refusals from two different financial institutions before approaching the local authority. Will the Minister of State agree that this is creating a double jeopardy for borrowers in that they have been refused twice? The most likely reasons for refusals is a person's income being too low or the property being over-valued. The Minister of State is creating a jeopardy for these people by facilitating a situation whereby the local authorities will grant a loan. The Minister of State in his response states over 4,000 people inquired about this scheme and four people have been given approval. Is this approval in full or approval in principle because there is a significant difference?

The departmental website advertises this scheme as not being applicable to the affordable homes programme. Given that local authorities are now selling affordable homes on the open market, is the home choice programme also open to those applicants?

See this speech in context