Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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53. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to increase the availability of the mortgage to rent scheme. [17641/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme introduced in 2012 is targeted at those households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP), who agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and are deemed eligible for social housing support. From its introduction in 2012 to the end of June 2020, 691 families have remained in their homes under the Scheme. As of end-June 2020, 1,342 applications were active.

A review of the MTR scheme undertaken in 2017 introduced a range of improvements to the eligibility criteria and its administration. In order to increase awareness and understanding of the Scheme a new website, www.mortgagetorent.ie, was developed. In addition, new structures and arrangements were put in place to encourage a greater number of entities to take part in the scheme.

The implementation of the recommendations of the Review means that MTR is available to provide a long-term solution for more households in mortgage distress, where appropriate. Building on that work, and in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, I am considering how the scheme could be further improved to meet the needs of more borrowers who require long-term support with their housing needs.