Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 January 2026
194. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider extending the operation of the fresh start principle to separated or divorced partners seeking to buyout their former partner from the family home with the assistance of the local authority mortgage. [4942/26]
View answer251. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to review the local authority home loan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4869/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 194 and 251 together.
The Local Authority Home Loan is a Government-backed mortgage for creditworthy applicants who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial lenders to purchase or build a home. The loan has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants. The Local Authority Home Loan is a successor loan to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan. The loan can be used for both the purchase of new and second-hand properties, or to self-build.
Both the Programme for Government 2025 and Delivering Homes: Building Communities commit to reviewing house price and income thresholds of the Local Authority Home Loan to ensure that it remains an accessible route to home ownership in the current housing market.
It is important to note that the Programme for Government 2025 also contains several other measures regarding the Local Authority Home Loan, these include:-
• Creating a new central national administration point for the scheme;
• Examination of the expansion of the Local Authority Home Loan to allow a separated or divorced person to buy the full mortgage on a home; and
• Examination of how the Local Authority Home Loan could support non-bank lender mortgage holders.
My Department is currently examining the feasibility of these actions, including the action related to expanding the Local Authority Home Loan to allow a separated or divorced person to buy the full mortgage on a home; and I will consider these in due course.
In respect of the house price and income limits, these limits have been in place since March 2023. Given developments in the housing market since then, it is timely to review the house price limits and income limits set out in the scheme to ensure that they are appropriate relative to the housing market conditions that now prevail. With all of that said, I can advise that this review is nearing completion. When it is finalised, I will be in a position to consider the recommendations and decide on the appropriate financial thresholds going forward.
