Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 July 2024
135. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of applicants for Rebuilding Ireland home loans/local authority home loans from Cork; the total number that have been successful; the total number that have been refused; the average time from application to decision, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30176/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Local Authority Home Loan (LAHL) is a Government-backed mortgage for creditworthy for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022, when it replaced the Rebuilding Ireland home Loan which was in operation from Jan 2018 to Jan 2022. The loan can be used both for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build.
The Housing Agency provides a central underwriting service that assesses valid applications for the Local Authority Home Loan on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to local authorities to approve or refuse applications. The most recent figures provided by the Agency on the number of valid Rebuilding Ireland and Local Authority Home Loan applications that it has assessed for the Cork City and County Local Authorities up to the end of May 2024 are set out in the below table:
|
Cork City and County |
LAHL 2022 - May 2024 |
RIHL 2018 - 2022 |
|
No of Valid Application |
647 |
1342 |
|
No Recommend to Approve |
247 |
621 |
|
No Recommend to Decline |
400 |
721 |
The final decision on loan approval is a matter for the relevant local authority and its Credit Committee on a case-by-case basis. Decisions on all housing loan applications must be made in accordance with the Regulations establishing the scheme and the Credit Policy that underpins the scheme, in order to ensure prudence and consistency in approaches in the best interests of both borrowers and the lenders, the local authorities.
My Department publishes information on the number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns. Local authority approval means that an official letter of offer has been sent to a borrower (and therefore relates to a specific property and loan amount). Information on drawdowns, approvals, average drawdowns, and average approvals for Local Authority Home Loans are available on my Department’s website at the following link, which is updated as soon as figures are available:
www.gov.ie/en/collection/42d2f-local-authority-loan-activity/#local-authority-loans-approvedpaid
Information on average processing times is not collected by my Department.
