Just over 200 Mortgage to Rent transactions have been completed in over four years, according to new figures from the Housing Agency.

With only 217 transactions completed, Fianna Fail said the scheme is "simply not working" and needs a "radical shake-up".

The party's spokesperson on Finance, Michael McGrath, said: "When the Mortgage to Rent scheme was launched by the previous FG / Labour government in 2012, it was held up as a safety net to keep families deep in mortgage arrears in their homes. Since then, the scheme has turned into a bureaucratic nightmare and delivered a paltry return.

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"The main banks in Ireland have been involved in just one third of the 217 completed transactions, with AIB, for example, concluding just one transaction in the last four and a half years. In contrast, Pepper, acting on behalf of so called 'vulture funds', has been involved in 107 of the 217 completed cases.

"It has been clear for some time now that this scheme is simply not working. With over 43,000 family home mortgages currently in arrears for more than a year, the lack of support for the Mortgage to Rent scheme by the Government and many of the main lenders is very apparent and offers little hope to those deep in mortgage arrears.

"The scheme is overly bureaucratic, takes far too long and has proven to be a deeply frustrating experience for those in mortgage arrears who have sought to avail of it. Nothing short of a major overhaul of the scheme, including putting it on a statutory footing will suffice at this stage."

(CD/LM)