Fianna Fáil candidate for Fingal-East and Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien has called on Sinn Féin to once and for all answer key questions in relation to their ‘affordable leasehold purchase scheme’.
Commenting Minister O’Brien said, “It’s ten weeks since Sinn Féin launched their alternative plan more appropriately called “A Home You’ll Never Own” and they have failed at every point to answer key questions in relation to how their convoluted ‘affordable leasehold purchase scheme’ will work in practice.
“It is incumbent on them to answer the following questions following the re-launch their convoluted ‘affordable leasehold purchase scheme’ today:
· What meetings and correspondence have Sinn Féin had with the banking institutions since September 12th?
· Have they received correspondence which confirms that commercial banks will lend under this scheme – will they make this correspondence public?
· Deputy O’Broin has confirmed that Sinn Féin will effectively guarantee €6.25bn in mortgages under this scheme. Would a €6.25bn State guarantee impact the Government balance sheet under Sinn Féin’s plans?
· Are there recognised State Aid issues for such a guarantee scheme and have Sinn Féin engaged on those?
· Do Sinn Féin agree that there is a moral hazard in creating a two tier mortgage system in the State? One in which a cohort of purchasers would have a safety-net if they were to default on their mortgage while the majority of other mortgage holders would not.
“The Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Housing, alongside the Party Leader continue to mislead people by misrepresenting the positon of the main banking representatives – something I believe must be called out. In response to recent questions on whether the banks would lend mortgages to applicants under their scheme they respectively stated: “absolutely…. we built that into the plans and not only will the banks lend into our scheme, the banks will also fund Local Authorities to provide additional mortgages” and “yes, the banks will lend”.
This is in stark contrast to the representative body which stated as recently as September 12th that “At no point was there a memorandum of understanding between the banks and Sinn Féin. There was a generalised discussion on a generalised proposal. And as they have said themselves in their own document, it would require further consultation..”
“I believe it is a huge leap from a ‘generalised discussion on a generalised proposal’ to Sinn Féin claiming the banks have confirmed they will lend and that the Party are misconstruing the positon of the banks.
“At this point it is vital that Sinn Féin answer these questions and finally bring clarity to the matter,” concluded O’Brien.
ENDS