Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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62. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be provided to individual circumstances wherein mortgage support was refused on the basis of lack of sustainability and failure to enter into arrangement with lenders, given that a number of agreements have now been reached with lenders, which would be more valuable if mortgage support was made available, even for a short period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5283/15]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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71. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of applicants for mortgage support who were refused such payment in County Kildare in the past five years on the basis of the alleged unsustainability of their cases; if a review of such cases will be undertaken where viability has subsequently been proven; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5292/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 71 together.

The Government’s strategy to assist those in mortgage difficulty is built around the following measures, as recommended in the 2011 Interdepartmental Mortgage Arrears Working Group (Keane Group), in four main distinct areas:

- Lenders providing sustainable and durable resolution options to their borrower;

- A social housing response sponsored by local authorities;

- Comprehensive advice to borrowers; and

- Personal Insolvency Reform.

In the context of the overall strategy, the continued payment of mortgage interest supplement, the purpose of which was to provide short-term support to meet mortgage interest repayments, does little to assist recipients in improving the long term difficulty in addressing their mortgage problem. Discontinuation of entitlement to the mortgage interest supplement scheme came into effect for all new applicants from 1 January 2014. Customers availing of this support prior to 1st January 2014 have been able to retain entitlement to the scheme up to 1st January 2018. There are currently approximately 5,880 mortgage interest supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €11.9 million for in 2015. Statistics on the reasons customers are refused mortgage interest supplement are not available.

I have no plans to revise the conditionality of the scheme at this time which could only be considered in a budgetary context. I am satisfied that the most appropriate way in which customers experiencing mortgage difficulties can be supported is through on-going engagement with their lender.