Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2019
976. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the figures for Rebuilding Ireland home loan approvals to date in counties Laois and Offaly; the number of applications pending; and if funding is available to fund those that may be approved. [23744/19]
View answerThe Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses loan applications that are made to the local authorities for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL) and makes recommendations to the authorities as to whether loans should be offered to applicants. The most recent data available from the Housing Agency for Laois and Offaly as at the end of May 2019 is included in the below table:
|
HA Stats from Feb 1 2018 to end May 2019 |
|
|
|
Local Authority |
Applications Examined |
Recommended to Approve |
|
Laois County Council |
93 |
50 |
|
Offaly County Council |
45 |
18 |
My Department does not collate data on the number of applications pending.
When the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan was initially being developed, it was estimated that the drawdown of loans under the scheme would be approximately €200 million over three years. From the data collated on the scheme to date, the RIHL has proven to be more successful than initially anticipated, as a result of which, the scheme would require a further tranche of funds to be borrowed by the Housing Finance Agency in order to enable its continuation.
My Department is currently in discussions with the Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform and Finance with regard to the amount of a second tranche, which I anticipate, will be finalised soon. When these discussions are concluded I will be in a position to make an announcement on the matter. Ahead of such an announcement, the operation of the scheme is not affected; the scheme remains open and all local authorities have been advised to continue to receive and process applications up to and including the issuing of loans.
