The new house grant scheme was terminated in order to allow re-prioritisation of this budget provision to other housing and social programmes. The deadline for completion and occupation of a house the subject of a grant application was adopted to prevent speculative applications on houses which may not be built for years to come.
I am very aware that difficulties are being faced by some housing grant applicants, including those mentioned in the question, in meeting the deadline of completing and occupying their new homes through no fault of their own. As I stated previously in my reply to the above mentioned question, consideration is currently being given by my Department as to how these difficulties might be addressed bearing in mind the need to ensure fair treatment and to achieve closure on the scheme.