Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

The Minister referred to the 100 new experts and how they would relate to and consult MABS which I know has issues with the proposals made. I note, for example, that there is no MABS office in Lucan and that its offices tend to be in locations chosen in line with the Celtic tiger economy. There are no offices in many towns and villages in which many people have recently lost jobs or got into difficulty. Therefore, changes are needed in this regard.

The Minister of State, Deputy Penrose, stated that under the mortgage to rent schemes, a property would be bought at the market value with a discount. Will the discount reflect the subsidy the banks have received, including for recapitalisation, which allowed for a debt write-off?

I made the point earlier that there did not appear to be any scheme similar to the shared ownership scheme. I would have thought this would be one of the solutions, given that not everybody is in a situation where they will give up his or her home. Some will get back on track and own their home in the long term. I accept that there were problems with the shared ownership scheme. Deputy Clare Daly has mentioned that if people were given two distinct payments such as rent and interest payments under the shared ownership scheme, the amount they had to pay was prohibitive, with the result that many got out of the scheme as quickly as possible. It is very important that the schemes put in place do not leave participants with unsustainable repayments if they have to pay rent and also keep a certain amount of equity in the property.

These are the questions I would like to have answered. Does the Minister have proposals in regard to shared ownership? Will the discounts take into account what the banks have received in regard to recapitalisation? Will there be consultation with MABS and changes to the spread of offices?

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