Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, the Rebuilding Ireland home loan is targeted at first-time buyers who wish to own their own home, satisfy the relevant income limits, have access to an adequate deposit and have the capacity to repay a mortgage, but who are unable to access a mortgage sufficient for them to purchase their first home.

As previously noted regarding this issue, the primary earner on the application must have at least two years’ continuous employment and the second applicant must have continuous employment for at least one year. Both self-employment and employment with a number of different employers can be counted as part of this continuous employment.

Since this issue was last raised, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has had a chance to meet the chief executives of the two main agencies involved in the implementation of the scheme, the Housing Agency and the Housing Finance Agency, to address any issues arising from the roll-out of the scheme.

One of the items raised was the manner in which information is presented on the application form. The Housing Finance Agency has undertaken to amend the wording on the application form to more clearly reflect the requirements of the scheme, specifically in reference to “continuous employment”, which I anticipate will address the Deputy’s concerns on this point.

The application form for the scheme contains the phrase “continuous permanent employment” at point 4 of the eligibility requirements. The requirements for the scheme do not require that the relevant employment be explicitly permanent, but rather continuous in nature. The primary earner on the application must have at least two years' continuous employment, which can be self-employment or with several employers, and the second applicant must have at least one year of continuous employment. The Housing Finance Agency will revise the application form to fully clarify this point. I am glad to have the opportunity to put it on the record today.

See this speech in context