Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 November 2024
233. 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. [45745/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra235. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of applicants for the Rebuilding Ireland home loan, local authority home loans from Longford and Westmeath; 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. [45778/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra237. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of applicants for the Rebuilding Ireland home loans, local authority home loans from Kerry; 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. [45835/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra240. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of applicants for Rebuilding Ireland home loans, local authority home loans from Kerry; 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. [45839/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 233, 235, 237 and 240 together.
The Local Authority Home Loan 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 replaced the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022. The loan can be used both for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build.
Applications for a Local Authority Home Loan [and its predecessor the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan] are made through the individual Local Authorities and 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.
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 applications that it has assessed for both the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan from 2018 to 2022 and the Local Authority Home Loan from 2022 to end September 2024 are set out in the below table:
|
Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan |
Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan |
Local Authority Home Loan |
Local Authority Home Loan |
|
|
Local Authority |
Applications Assessed |
Recommended to Approve |
Applications Assessed |
Recommended to Approve |
|
Cork City Council |
478 |
208 |
210 |
78 |
|
Cork County Council |
864 |
413 |
477 |
181 |
|
Kerry County Council |
372 |
138 |
124 |
38 |
|
Longford County Council |
137 |
66 |
92 |
51 |
|
Westmeath County Council |
122 |
72 |
81 |
37 |
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 [and its predecessor] 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 time in each Local Authority is not collected by my Department.
