Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. `

My Department funds two mortgage to rent, MTR, schemes, a local authority, LA, scheme and an approved housing body, AHB, scheme. Both schemes are designed to assist families with income difficulties whose mortgages are deemed unsustainable and likely to remain so. Both schemes allow the household to remain in the home as a social housing tenant. Under the local authority scheme which applies to properties acquired with local authority mortgages, the local authority acquires ownership of the properties. In the case of the AHB scheme which applies to properties secured with private mortgages, properties are acquired by an approved housing body.

The schemes were launched on foot of recommendations made in the Keane report on mortgage arrears which was published in 2011. The approved housing body scheme was launched nationally in June 2012, while the local authority scheme was launched nationally earlier this year. To date, 2,490 cases have been put forward by private lending institutions for possible inclusion in the AHB scheme. In 48 of these cases negotiations between all the parties involved, namely, the property owners, lenders, AHBs and local authorities, are completed, while 29 of the cases are fully completed with all agreements signed. A further 73 are at funding approval stage, with detailed negotiations to follow. Separately, 18 cases have been completed under the local authority scheme.

The number of solutions put in place under the schemes has been low and is a factor of the complex multi-party negotiations and agreements required. The Government remains committed to helping families in mortgage difficulties to remain in their homes. In an effort to increase the numbers delivered under the AHB scheme, a new protocol between all parties involved in the process came into operation in June 2014.

The protocol includes such measures as the provision of a single independent valuation for the purpose of agreeing a purchase price. The valuation and condition surveys will now be carried out earlier in the process to give more certainty to all parties, including the borrower. I expect these new arrangements to support accelerated delivery of the schemes.

See this speech in context