asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that under legislation, effective from 1 July 1986, a person who is in receipt of an income related loan from a local authority and who loses his job will have to pay 90 per cent of what he has heretofore been paying; if he is aware that this is causing hardship for people who are in receipt of social welfare benefit and that many of these people will have to pay 50 per cent of their income to repay their loans; that this requirement is causing people to give up their houses; and if he will undertake to repeal this anomalous and inequitable legislation.
Written Answers. - Local Authority Income-related Loans.
196.
A minimum level of income related repayments was introduced to limit the extent to which seriously reducing income related repayments could extend repayment periods beyond an acceptable span of years. Borrowers who availed of income related loans would have been informed of this provision when they made application for the loan and I do not propose to change this requirement.