John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for confirming that it is based on the affordable purchase price as opposed to the market value of the house. I welcome his statement that the Department will issue a guidance note to all local authorities because to be honest, many of them, including my local authority, are not aware of the scheme's interaction with the local authority home loan. There is still an issue because if somebody is only entitled to a €40,000 discount on a property, bringing the affordable purchase price to €260,000 in this case, he or she cannot access it. My initial point about looking to increase the maximum market value from €250,000 to €300,000 still stands and I would like to see the single income threshold of €65,000, which applies to the commuter belt, apply nationally and the €75,000 threshold for a couple increase to €85,000, to reflect current market conditions.