John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome these amendments being brought forward to strengthen the legislation that has already been passed by this House to place the affordable purchase scheme and the shared equity scheme on a statutory footing. Will the Minister comment on the date for the commencement of the shared equity scheme? We are hoping that it will be in place for July. Will he confirm that is the case? In my area in County Waterford, 119 homes have been approved by the Minister under the affordable purchase scheme on three sites in Waterford city. I welcome that. We need to see more of those in the coming months and years. Work is already under way on two of those three sites. We will see families in those homes within 12 to 18 months with an equity stake being taken by the State to assist young families in getting a foot on the property ladder. That is a very welcome addition to the property market in Ireland. I appreciate the frustration of people who have found it difficult to bridge the gap between the maximum mortgage they can get and the cost of a market unit. We are introducing the two schemes to assist those very people to get a foot on the ladder. It can also be combined with the help to buy scheme which provides 10% support towards a deposit. There are many measures the benefit of which people will start to see very shortly. As politicians we are acutely aware of the frustration that exists. If we could have these homes delivered more quickly, we would, but in my own county I am glad to say that those 119 homes are well under way. I thank the Minister.