Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 475: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will allow the private housing market to take its course without Government intervention; his plans for an initiative in the housing market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35414/08]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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As I indicated to the House last week during the debate on Budget 2009, it is important that the ongoing process of correction in the housing market is not artificially interfered with. Given that sentiment in the housing market is heavily dependent on wider sentiment in the economy, the Government's approach is focused on the broader economic fundamentals and ensuring, ultimately, that the housing market is underpinned by these.

Any housing-specific interventions must be targeted in nature and designed to achieve specific outcomes. The announcement in the Budget of the introduction, for a limited period, of a new mortgage product for certain first-time buyers is fully in line with this policy. It is designed to respond, in a targeted way, to a very specific set of circumstances in the housing market whereby prospective first-time buyers who would previously have been in a position to access mortgage finance from one of the financial institutions are not currently in a position to do so, due to the impacts of the credit crunch. The initiative provides no incentive to enter the housing market; it will merely facilitate certain first-time buyers who have themselves decided to purchase a home.