Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I wish to be associated with the tributes paid to Archbishop Robin Eames, all of which are richly deserved.

I commend the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Brennan's, concept of means-tested mortgage interest relief, which I hope becomes more than an idea. While there may be many possible actions, the Government could do something concrete and practical without costing the Exchequer a single euro, namely, pass No. 15 on our Order Paper, the Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006. As the House knows, many young people are trying to get on the housing ladder, paying over the odds and bridging finances because they are making staged payments instead of paying deposits and balances on completion. This would be normal but is not happening in many parts of the country. Young married couples and others are being crippled by this extra imposition.

When does the Leader envisage this injustice ending? I have heard her and Members on the opposite side of the House say they are sympathetic many times, such as when we previously debated the matter. We must be concrete and practical in expressing our sympathies by passing the Bill or having the Government replace it with another measure, which the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government with special responsibility for housing and urban renewal, Deputy Noel Ahern, promised in May 2004. I look forward to the Leader's response.