Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I am delighted to hear that the scheme is still open but unfortunately Waterford City and County Council has well exceeded its initial allocation of €2 million. The council has actually used €600,000 of its own money at this stage. The Minister of State knows well that local authorities must balance their books and in that context the council needs to have some idea of the timeframe involved here.

Some local authorities have been more successful than others in terms of processing Rebuilding Ireland home loan applications. Would it be possible to redirect funds from those local authorities that did not utilise their full allocation to those which have exceeded their allocations? I urge the Department to look at those local authorities that have loaned a lot of money and exceeded their allocations to determine why this happened.

The focus must be on building houses and moving people into them. We are all agreed on that. That is what is important to every local authority, every Senator and Deputy in these Houses and every councillor on the ground. We need clarity on the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme although I accept that the Minister of State cannot provide it today. I welcome the fact that the scheme is still open but the situation is very difficult for the local authorities. If Waterford City and County Council goes ahead and allocates the aforementioned 11 mortgages that it has approved, will the Department guarantee that the council will be reimbursed?

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