Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Kildare's figures are a good example of why such a measure is necessary. Of the €21 million the Minister has said is available to Kildare County Council to draw down, the council has asked the council members to approve only €15 million. This is because there has been a drawdown of only €10 million. It means there are an awful lot of people still waiting on a list who are now contacting my office. They want to get a Rebuilding Ireland home loan but are stuck in that system. Where there is duplication it would be very helpful to have some measures to deal with that.

The income limits for the Rebuilding Ireland home loan are €50,000 for a single person and €75,000 for a couple. I have dealt with a number of cases where a person in his or her 30s is a public servant or works in the public sector and might be high enough up the increment scale. It is not too hard to get just on or above the €50,000 threshold. One comes across very few banks, however, that are able to give mortgages to people in that space who are on less than €60,000. This means we still have a cohort - single people and couples - that are missing out between the Rebuilding Ireland home loan and what the banks are lending.

The Rebuilding Ireland home loan is a very good step in that direction, but if there was a review of those limits, a slight increase should be considered. While there is a maximum level allowed, perhaps consideration could also be given to a minimum level. That there is no minimum level for the local authority to bring in is a vulnerability in the scheme.

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