In January 2018 the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, announced with great fanfare a Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme which would be available to all local authorities as a solution for many people who were not in a position to secure finance to purchase a home. As we learned quickly and anyone with a busy constituency office would know, the scheme was extremely difficult to process, with many hurdles put in front of people and many delays. Far from four to six weeks, the process went on for months in many cases. At the time the Minister announced that a second fund would be created very quickly that would be demand-driven, given the overall state of the mortgage market, at a figure of €99 billion. He said it would be a demand-led scheme that would progress.

We learned this morning from Louise Byrne on the RTÉ "Morning Ireland" programme that in a briefing note to the Minister's press office the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government stated it had been advised no further approvals should issue for now, that the Department was undertaking a review of the scheme and that the Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform and Finance were engaging on it. That was on 31 January this year and notwithstanding that Deputy Darragh O'Brien had tabled parliamentary questions about the issue and that Deputy O'Dea had been told in December by the Minister that he was progressing reforms to ensure the loan scheme could work for more people and more quickly. One month later he is advising his press office that no further approvals should issue.

I do not know what planet the Minister is living on, but the question I ask the Taoiseach is why was the scheme not extended. Why was there no public announcement to that effect?

If the Taoiseach tells his press office, surely the public deserves to know. Why was the Dáil not told in an upfront and honest way? Why is there this continuing lack of respect for the House in terms of being open, upfront and honest about what is going on with schemes of this kind? People are still applying, but no one save for the press office has been told that no further approvals will issue, according to RTÉ this morning following a freedom of information request. Why can the Government not just be honest with the people about these issues? Will the Taoiseach bring clarity to this situation? When will the scheme be extended and to what degree? The original limit was €200 million and the Minister alleged that 1,000 houses were to be accommodated. Approximately 1,550 applications, if not more, have been accepted. Will those people who have been approved be in a position to draw down their loans?

I thank the Deputy. This is a Government that believes in the view that everyone has the right to shelter and everyone should be able to aspire to buy his or her own home.

In the meantime, the Government puts them in hotels.

We are a Government that is very committed to home ownership and that has taken many actions in recent years to assist people to buy their own homes.

How is that working out?

A non-practising believer.

Take, for example, the help-to-buy scheme, whereby people can get some of their income taxes back to help fund a deposit. So far, 10,000 people have used the help-to-buy scheme to help them get a deposit to buy their first homes. Ten thousand people today are living in homes that they were helped to buy by the help-to-buy scheme.

That is a different scheme.

The Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme is another way in which we are assisting people to buy their first homes. It is open to-----

Fine Gaelers.

-----single people with an income of €50,000 or less and couples with an income of €75,000 or less where they have been refused a mortgage from the bank but could pay that mortgage back with this product because it is at a fixed low rate. It has been very popular. So far, 575 people have been helped with buying their first home with a Rebuilding Ireland home loan and a further 1,000 applicants have been approved but have not yet drawn down the funding. The scheme was initially limited at €200 million and that €200 million has been allocated, but as loans are not drawn down - they expire after six months if they are not drawn down - more finance does become available.

We now have to consider two things: whether we should increase the cap above €200 million, and that is under consideration by the Government, and we have to consult the Central Bank because this is a mortgage. It is a loan that is being offered to people who have been turned down by banks and building societies and it is at a reduced interest rate. We have to consider two things now: whether we should increase the €200 million cap and the need to consult the Central Bank as to whether it is comfortable with us offering more of these loans, taking into account the fact that it is a low-interest loan offered to people who were not able to get loans from commercial lenders.

When did the Taoiseach discover that the Government had to do those two things? The Minister said last year: "We are not going to wait for the fund to run out before we build up a second fund to allow a continuation of the scheme with whatever changes we might deem to be necessary". He said that there would be no issue here and he would continue with a second fund. He was saying that as late as December, when he stated in a parliamentary reply that he wanted more people and for them to be processed more quickly.

It is low-income people who are being let down again. Their hopes are raised with fanfare by the Government, but the dashing of those hopes is done silently. Why was what the Taoiseach just told the House not said by the Minister in his parliamentary reply? Why did the Minister not say that he was going to be approaching the Central Bank and that the Central Bank was going to place a limit on this? Why all the secrecy and silence around this? Why can the Government not just be upfront and straight with people about what it is doing instead of hoping that the problem will go away or that someone will not discover it?

Time is up, Deputy, please.

The Government advises its own press office and tells no one else. We are all dealing with applications in our constituencies.

These are people who are desperate to buy homes. If they could get mortgages, they would be cheaper than the rents that they are paying. There have been higher rents for seven or eight years now and they could be paying much less if they could get a mortgage. They are all going through this charade, being asked for this note, that letter, and the other form. That is what is going on in the real world while the Government just prances about the place, going on about this and that. It is just not good enough.

While Deputy Martin is prancing about the place, wagging the finger and telling us off, we are actually doing things.

Doing what?

Certainly not building houses.

The Taoiseach is hoping for an election.

The Deputies should not fall out with each other.

We are doing things in the real world that help people to buy their first homes. We have helped 10,000 people to buy their first home through the help-to-buy scheme.

There are 10,000 people in emergency accommodation.

The Taoiseach should visit a hotel in the city one of these days.

We have helped 10,000 people. While Deputy Martin was wagging the finger, we actually did it for 10,000 people.

When it comes to the Rebuilding Ireland home loan, 575 people have been helped to buy their first home-----

What about the other 1,000 who have been approved?

-----and 1,000 more have been approved, many of whom will go on to buy a home.

Why did the Minister mislead the House on 19 February?

I did not mislead the House.

They have six months before the loan approval expires.

The Minister misled the House. He said he was going to extend it.

When the Rebuilding Ireland home loan was announced, we said that the scheme would be capped at €200 million and would run for three years.

That is wrong. He said that he was not going to wait for-----

Notwithstanding the fact that the Opposition has falsely claimed that it has failed, it has actually been a real success. There has been enormous uptake-----

The Minister misled the House on 19 February in an oral response.

I did not mislead the House. The Deputy can check the record.

The Minister should put down his finger.

-----and we now need to do two things. First, we must consider whether we can lift the €200 million cap. We must find the finance for that, by the way.

The Deputy should be careful.

Why should I be careful? It is the Minister who needs to be careful.

The money will have to be found, as is always the case. Second, we must consult the Central Bank.

All the Government is good for is high-vis jackets and hard hats. That is all.

The Deputies should calm their jets.