O’BRIEN UNDER PRESSURE TO FACE THE DÁIL
DARRAGH O’Brien is under pressure to appear before the Dáil amid claims he ‘misled’ the House, despite him writing to the Ceann Comhairle rejecting the accusation.
The Minister for Housing told the House on June 24 that the shared equity scheme, part of the long-awaited Housing for All plan, had been ‘approved’ by the Central Bank.
Speaking subsequently on RTÉ’s Prime Time, Mr O’Brien repeated the claim that the scheme had been approved by the Central Bank.
However, the Central Bank confirmed that it had yet to approve the scheme and has previously raised concerns about it, as has the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
The scheme will see the State pay up to 30% of the cost of new homes in return for a stake in the property, in a bid to bridge the affordability gap. It has been repeatedly criticised by Opposition parties, who claim it will lead to price inflation.
The Oireachtas Business Committee met yesterday at the request of Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats, who had sought to bring Mr O’Brien before the House, claiming he ‘misled’ the Dáil.
However, one source on the committee told the Irish Daily Mail that attempts to bring the minister before the Dáil were ‘stonewalled’.
The source said that Government Chief Whip Jack Chambers said he would consider requests for a Dáil debate. In a letter to the Ceann Comhairle on Tuesday, Mr O’Brien said that the comments referenced as being misleading only related to one aspect of the scheme.
He said: ‘I would like to clarify that the remarks which I have made in reference to the First Home shared equity scheme relate to the aspect of the scheme whereby, informed by engagement with the CBI [Central Bank of Ireland], the scheme is being designed as an equity product rather than being a debt on the purchaser.
‘I have consistently made this point in response to Opposition claims that the shared equity scheme is debt-based. It’s not, it’s an equity scheme.’
Mr O’Brien also provided responses to parliamentary questions, which stated ‘that the operational details of the First Home shared equity scheme are currently being finalised’.
In the Dáil yesterday, Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy said that a clarification on the situation was needed as a ‘matter of urgency’.
‘The public needs to be able to trust what is said in this House,’ Ms Murphy said.
Speaking to this newspaper in Limerick yesterday, Mr O’Brien said that the shared equity scheme would be in place by ‘the first quarter of next year’.
Asked if the scheme would proceed without Central Bank approval, Mr O’Brien said that ‘the scheme is going ahead, and the scheme will be in place next year’. He added: ‘We’re working really well with the Department of Finance and the Central Bank, and their input has been absolutely crucial.’
Mr O’Brien committed to publishing regulations for the scheme before the end of the year.
‘The scheme will be in place next year’