Vol. 449 No. 1
108 Mr. Gallagher (Laoighis-Offaly) asked the Minister for the Environment his views on whether Housing Finance Agency loans have proved unsuitable for many people, especially those on low incomes who may never clear the principal sum borrowed; if he will introduce a special scheme to convert such loans to standard annuity loans with local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3162/95]
Housing Finance Agency loans have on average, over the past ten years, offered the cheapest mortgage rate available and, consequently, I do not consider that these loans have proved unsuitable for low income borrowers.In addition, the income-related nature of the payments on these loans means that they take account of fluctuations in borrowers' incomes. The risk of never clearing the loan principal would only arise where the borrower's payments remained in the long term below the interest charged, which would normally only occur in the event of long term unemployment. The position of HFA borrowers who are unemployed is being examined at present, in conjunction with the Department of Social Welfare, in the context of the Supplementary Welfare Allowances Scheme. Borrowers are at any year end free to convert their income related mortgage payments to an annuity basis at the rate of interest applicable to HFA loans, without penalty.
