Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Having listened to the previous reply, this one will add further grist to the Minister's mill. The case I wish to outline turns the response we have heard completely on its head. In this case one of the partners is out of the family home due to circumstances beyond the other person's control. Mortgage arrears have arisen to the extent of approximately €6,000. The monthly mortgage payment is approximately €1,400, depending on the interest rate. The person's total income is in the region of €1,500 per month and the mortgage is 95% of that. How does one expect a family to survive with two children in those circumstances?

I advised the person to apply for family income supplement, FIS, as she had applied for the one-parent family allowance previously. She was granted FIS. A helpful letter around that time from the superintendent community welfare officer said: "It would be advisable for Ms So and So to speak with her partner with a view to his surrendering his interest in the family home, in which case the Department would be able to assist fully with the interest element of the mortgage repayment." It transpires that if the husband's interest in the family home was surrendered that would solve the problem.

What amused me most is that it will take time to do that. One does not know what will be the eventual outcome of the family home circumstances. To go through the court proceedings and all entailed in that will incur further expenses both on the part of the State and on the poor unfortunate person. The sad part is that having been awarded FIS, the woman received a letter from the community welfare officer saying the combination of FIS and the €27 per week she earns from employment, which has been taken into account in a means test, means she no longer qualifies for any assistance with her mortgage. I do not think community welfare officers are fully aware of the rules and regulations in the application of the system. It is happening all the time and the Minister of State knows this well.

I totally disagree with the Minister of State's statement on new sub-prime mortgages. They are still sub-prime mortgages because all that will happen is that over-priced houses will be off-loaded to unfortunate people who are totally incapable of paying for them and who will have negative equity in the next six months, let alone two years. I say this having dealt with housing loans for years. I deal with a large volume every year and I am sure every other Member does the same. It is only by doing so that one gains experience.

In heaven's name, will somebody evaluate this case according to the person's income and recognise that she has approximately €150 per month on which to live after paying the mortgage and that there are recurring household expenses over which she has no control? Making a decision on entitlements on the basis of looking at a chart is not desirable. The Minster of State should remember that community welfare officers can exercise discretion. They operate according to guidelines, not rigid statutory rules.

Will the Minister of State send some kind of message, by pigeon or some other method, down the line to staff who deal with these cases to explain that these are very difficult times and that people need to be treated with respect and concern, given that they may face increases in mortgage arrears and ultimately may be on the roadside without a house? The local authority or HSE will have full responsibility. These bodies can walk away from the matter and say they have no responsibility but if they walk away, we had better recognise that we are flying in the face of all the precedents and established practices of the past 40 years. For God's sake, will the Minister of State tell somebody to wake up and deal with these circumstances immediately and not wait for six months or a year?

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Is olc liom a rá nach bhfuil mo chomhghleacaí, an tAire Gnóthaí Sóisialacha agus Teaghlaigh, an Teachta Mary Hanafin, i láthair. Táim cinnte go mbeidh sí ag léamh an Tuairisc Oifigiúil. I thank Deputy Durkan for raising a clear example of a difficulty of which I know the Minister, Deputy Mary Hanafin, will be very much aware.

The supplementary welfare allowance scheme provides for a supplement to be paid in respect of mortgage interest to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs. The scheme is administered by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive on behalf of the Department. The purpose of mortgage interest supplement is to provide short-term income support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house that is their sole place of residence. The supplement assists with the interest portion of the mortgage repayments only.

In general, a person may be entitled to a mortgage interest supplement provided she or he is habitually resident in the State; the loan agreement was entered into at a time when, in the opinion of the Health Service Executive, the person was in a position to meet the repayments; the residence in respect of which the loan is payable is not offered for sale; the mortgage interest payable does not exceed such amount as the Health Service Executive considers reasonable to meet his or her residential needs — in exceptional circumstances, a supplement may be awarded where the mortgage interest exceeds such amount as the executive considers reasonable, but such a supplement is payable for a maximum of 12 months only; and she or he satisfies a means test.

Mortgage interest supplement is normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of mortgage interest, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance, appropriate to family circumstances, less a minimum contribution, currently €13, which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. The minimum contribution will be increased to €18 per week from January 2009. Many recipients pay more than the minimum contribution because they are also required, subject to income disregards, to contribute any additional assessable means that they have over and above the appropriate basic SWA rate towards their accommodation costs.

Where two people enter into a joint mortgage agreement there is an obligation on both parties to meet repayments as agreed with the financial institution. The fact that one of the joint mortgage holders is not resident in the property does not remove the obligation on that person to meet that part of the loan repayment which is reasonably attributable to him or her. It is not considered appropriate that the Exchequer should provide assistance towards the accumulation of a capital asset on the part of the absent party to a mortgage agreement.

Where a person residing in the property becomes the sole mortgage holder, a mortgage interest supplement can be considered in respect of such amount as a community welfare officer considers reasonable to meet the person's accommodation needs up to the full amount of interest payable. Where the person resident in the property continues as a joint mortgage holder, a mortgage interest supplement payment will be considered in respect of half of the interest on the mortgage. However, the community welfare officer will take into account the circumstances of each case and in particular where a person resident in a property is seeking to become the sole mortgage holder.

It is a matter for the community welfare officer to a make a decision on entitlement to mortgage interest supplement and the amount of that supplement, based on all of the facts of the case and the relevant legislative provisions. There is a right of appeal against the decision of a community welfare officer to a Health Service Executive appeals officer and thereafter to the chief appeals officer of the Department.

The Health Service Executive has advised that the person concerned is not entitled to mortgage interest supplement as her combined income from employment, the one-parent family payment and family income supplement is sufficient to meet the total mortgage interest due on the loan.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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No, it is not.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Her weekly income after paying the full amount of mortgage interest due is over €360 per week in respect of herself and one child. If she is not satisfied with the decision of the community welfare officer, it is open to her to appeal against the decision to the executive's designated appeals office.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The facts in the reply are incorrect

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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I ask the Deputy to take up the matter with the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Hanafin.