Vol. 503 No. 2
193 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the regulations, if any, governing local authority housing loans in 1984; if there was any discrepancy between the way in which local authority housing loans operated at the time in comparison to private financial institutions in establishing the amount of interest owed on the loan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9552/99]
The regulatory provisions governing local authority housing loans in 1984 were contained in Parts VI and VII of the Housing Regulations, 1980 (S.I. No. 296 of 1980) and the Housing Regulations, 1980 (Amendment) Regulations, 1982 (S.I. No. 177 of 1982).
Article 39 of the Housing Regulations 1980 set out the position regarding interest rates on house purchase loans as follows:
"the rate of interest on a loan shall be such rate as may be fixed by the housing authority making the loan, provided that the rate shall not be less than the rate at which the authority borrow money from the local loans fund at that time for that purpose and shall not be more than ½ per cent more than such rate."
The interest rate on local authority house purchase loans advanced in 1984 was a fixed rate of 12.5 per cent for the duration of the loan, terms which were not available from private lending agencies at a time of volatile interest rates.
