Vol. 554 No. 5
1520 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will consider the situation regarding the provision of mortgage protection for borrowers from local authorities in order to allow discretion for alternative arrangements to be made which would take account of more flexible circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16393/02]
The local authorities mortgage protection plan has applied, subject to the terms of the plan, to all house purchase loans approved by local authorities on or after 1 July 1986. The terms of the cover under the mortgage protection plan was negotiated by a sub-committee of the County and City Managers Association, the Housing Finance Agency and a representative of my Department. These terms are renegotiated periodically by the committee. The cost of the mortgage protection plan is met by way of an additional charge, currently 0.67%, to the rate of interest charged on individual loans. One of the conditions of the plan, which is a group policy, is that it is obligatory for all local authority borrowers who meet the eligibility criteria to join the scheme.
