The Deputy makes a great deal of sense. I wish to give what assistance we can and to improve that assistance to a level which will allow people to be independent of local authority housing in so far as that is possible. Obviously some people will not be in a financial position to do anything other than go on a local authority housing list.
There are problems in Dublin because the cost of land and housing is extremely high. In 1996, 85 per cent of transactions completed under the shared ownership scheme were in respect of secondhand houses and 59 per cent of all secondhand houses were sold for £60,000 or less. In Dublin, more than 40 per cent of houses were £60,000 or less. The changes I and the Minister of State have put together will increase the level of house cost that can be achieved by the same input — in other words, a person can buy a more expensive house for the same financial outlay — and adjust the supports to enable that to happen. That is most important to prevent people who could perhaps afford to purchase with a little extra help being forced to abandon the prospect and apply for a house from the local authority.
Our ideas are being discussed and I hope to make an announcement about them shortly.