Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

The Minister's general response to the issue seems to be that someone somewhere should do something. The Minister is the position to act here and instead of reading out long answers, it would be better to engage in the topic and tell us what he intends to do rather than hiding behind prepared answers and talking about the Cooney report. It is ludicrous that we do not know how many people apply for mortgage interest supplement. That is a major gap in the information systems that should be addressed now.

The mortgage interest supplement scheme has not been reformed since the mid-1990s. It does not reflect the reality of the boom and post-boom years. We now have a situation where many people, some of them on very low incomes, are being refused any kind of assistance under the scheme because of the arbitrary nature of the rules that apply. Leaving aside the Cooney report, the Minister is responsible for the review of the mortgage interest supplement scheme. That review was supposed to be ready at Easter 2009, then Easter this year and it is now 15 months overdue. When does the Minister expect to get it? The delay means more people will be in serious danger of losing their homes. Let us have some action.

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