James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Overnight, a change was announced to the mortgage lending rules of the Central Bank. In essence, it has become harder for second-time buyers to move on. We are all well aware of the chronic difficulties in the housing market. Apparently, the change is based on a presumption that second-time buyers are more settled and secure than first-time buyers. While that might be the position in a normally functioning market, many people coming out of negative equity and a recession are not in that position. This issue has a knock-on effect on supply because first-time buyers who face a lack of new builds will not be able to buy a home in the second-hand market which has been throttled. That, of course, in turn, has a knock-on effect on the rental market as there is no supply at that stage. The whole pyramid is throttled. I am aware that there is a limit to the extent to which the Government can instruct the Central Bank, but there are fora such as the Central Bank Commission in which policy matters can be discussed. I am sure it is not beyond the ingenuity of the Government to tackle this issue in other ways also. This is a real issue for many buyers and it affects the market as a whole. I hope the Government can address it.

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