I call Deputy Boyd Barrett.

In the programme for Government the Taoiseach said that the provision of affordable housing to those who need it would be a "priority" and that the Government should be tested on its ability to deliver on that promise. Can I suggest that promise is a hoax given the revelation today that, without telling anybody, instructions were given not to give out what is already a very limited scheme around affordable mortgages under the Rebuilding Ireland mortgage scheme? The limitations of this scheme can be told by the fact that in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown only three Rebuilding Ireland mortgages were given out. Indeed, I have raised this issue with the Minister before, how people who should and are supposed to qualify did not qualify. The affordable scheme, which is supposed to deal with the same cohort of people and in which we were told €300 million was to be put, still has not appeared two years later. Are not all of the "affordable" promises in the programme for Government just a complete hoax?

I would like to follow on from Deputies Martin and Boyd Barrett by asking the Taoiseach and the Minister whether it is a fact that there is no database for the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme and the reason that there are 1,000 applicants still waiting for approval is that there are duplicates of up to 50% right across multiple applications, particularly in the north east. Is that the situation? We have been told that there are multiple dual applications and that this is the reason for the delay in the approval of the additional 1,000.

The real issue here is that of the 1,500 applications that have been approved, 68% have not been able to draw down the funds. They have not been able to draw down the funds because either it is taking too long for the underwriting process or, particularly in Dublin, the amount of money being offered - on average about €200,000 - comes nowhere close to the average house price of €340,000 and in Dún Laoghaire of €590,000. We have a situation now where €136 million of this fund is sitting there and the people to whom it is being offered cannot access it. It is not just a matter of extending the overall funding, it also involves fixing the scheme to ensure that when people are offered loans, it is an appropriate amount of money and it is done in a speedy enough fashion so the money can be spent on the houses they so desperately need.

The Taoiseach confirmed that over 500 loans had been drawn down and 1,000 were still outstanding. Could the Minister comment on how long have some of those, the longest of them, been in the system? Does he appreciate the limbo that those applicants find themselves in while waiting for those applications, to know whether they will or will not be drawn down? Can the Minister give an assurance to the House, particularly in relation to the number of constituents that I am familiar with, that the response as to whether they will be able to draw down these mortgages will be considered and given as swiftly as possible?

I wish to say to the Deputy that this is a revelation today. I was clear with the Dáil and I can direct attention to parliamentary questions on 5 and 26 February but also to previous conversations we have had at committee about the operation of this loan.

The Rebuilding Ireland home loan is incredibly worthwhile and supportive of people trying to buy their first home. Time and again Deputies have come into the House to say that it is not working. Today we see clearly and know that it is working so well that it is working better than anticipated, because the additional €200 million of funding was a tranche that was meant to be there for three years, but only a year and a month into the operation of the scheme we have already seen hundreds of people approved and drawing down and hundreds more waiting to draw down their loans.

We have dual applications because people are applying to different local authorities depending on where they intend to buy their homes. We also have cases where some loans are approved but not drawn down. That happens for many reasons. The lag between an approval and a drawdown is not necessarily on the local authority's side. Once one gets approval for a mortgage it takes time to find a home, to complete the sale and to do all the things that one has to do when someone is buying a home. In those circumstances, that is where a delay can arise and that is often the case. Sometimes a loan is not drawn down at all because the circumstances or the choice of the individual changes. I indicated to the Dáil that we would need to look for a second tranche when the first tranche did expire. Only half of the first tranche has been drawn down to date. That is why at the moment I am in negotiations with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform about a further tranche to ensure we can continue with the Rebuilding Ireland home loan. It has been successful in helping hundreds of people to buy their first home and we want to see that happen for hundreds more.