Clare is a nurse who has returned from Britain at the request of the HSE to take up a permanent nursing post. She has been lucky enough to source a house near the hospital that she can afford to buy. Her last two years of continuous employment were in Britain and she is being refused a local authority mortgage because according to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage not only has she to prove her ability to repay, but she also needs to prove her long-term commitment to Ireland. Surely, relocating to Ireland to bail out our health service should be proof enough. I am asking the Tánaiste to ensure that this anomaly within the regulations is addressed and that where nurses are being encouraged to come home and to take up employment here, they are not being told that they have to wait a further two years before they can access a State mortgage.

I agree 100% with the Deputy. Maybe he could pass the case on to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I will certainly alert him to the fact that he has raised the issue. We need to be flexible and sensible in our implementation of regulations and in administering loans of this kind. The spirit must be one of facilitation as opposed to creating hurdles. If someone is working for the HSE, he or she is in a very secure and sustainable position with good prospects for the years to come. That in my view should qualify one for a loan.