Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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222. To ask the Minister for Finance if he has received an economic impact analysis on a mortgage guarantee scheme as per the Construction 2020 commitment; and if so, if he will publish the document. [46281/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Construction 2020 is a comprehensive strategy to restore the construction sector to a sustainable position and it sets out a number of action points to increase the supply good quality houses to meet a growing demand. One of the strategy action points provides for an examination of the issue of mortgage insurance and a consideration of how it might assist the provision of adequate and sustainable mortgage finance, on affordable terms, in particular to first time buyers. Work on this issue is ongoing and it has and will continue to benefit from inputs by relevant Departments and bodies.

However, there have also been some recent developments which will now need to be taken into account in the further advancement of this action point.  As the Deputy is aware, the Central Bank has published a Consultation Paper on the proposed macro prudential measures in relation to residential mortgage lending which raises the issue of mortgage insurance and asks if some adequately insured mortgages should be exempted from the proposed loan to value (LTV) limitations outlined in the consultation paper.

As a separate initiative to further assist the evaluation and consideration of mortgage insurance, the Deputy and his colleagues on the Oireachtas Committee on Finance and Public Expenditure & Reform are also undertaking an examination of mortgage insurance. This is a very worthwhile and welcome development. The committee is a most qualified and appropriate forum to conduct such an examination and it is particularly well placed to seek and obtain the views of the industry, consumer representatives and other interested parties, and then to evaluate these and to produce a report on this matter.  When that report becomes available, it will make a very important contribution to the ongoing public policy consideration of this significant issue.