I propose to take Questions Nos. 184 and 185 together.
When the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan scheme was initially being developed, it was estimated that the drawdown of loans would be approximately €200 million over three years. However, this loan product has proved to be more successful than initially anticipated. In the context of the scheme’s success my Department engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Finance with regard to the allocation for 2019.
I engaged early as I said I would. While discussions commenced in October 2018 on additional funding, the first tranche of €200m was only fully drawn down in August of this year. My Department wrote to all 31 local authorities on 15 August 2019 sanctioning an additional €363 million in funding for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan. This brings total funding for the Loan to over €563 million for 2018 and 2019 combined.
The RIHL is funded by financing provided to the local authorities by the Housing Finance Agency (HFA). As an on-balance sheet entity, the HFA's borrowing from the non-Government sector forms part of General Government Debt. RIHL loans, however, do not impact on the General Government Balance as the RIHL scheme is treated as a loan under the European System of Accounts 2010 framework.
Furthermore, the ESRI have been commissioned to conduct a review of the operation of the RIHL. The output of the review will be used to inform the development of the RIHL product and identify any reforms to be introduced if necessary to local authority mortgage lending via the RIHL in 2020 and beyond.
The Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses applications for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities to approve or refuse applications. Housing Agency recommendations are then considered by the Credit Committee in each local authority, which issues loan approvals.
Each local authority must have in place a Credit Committee and it is a matter for the Committee to make the final decision on applications for loans, in accordance with the regulations, and having regard to the recommendations made by the Housing Agency. The value of pending applications is not tracked by my Department.
I have asked the Agency to compile figures on the numbers of applications that it has assessed and recommended to approve since the scheme began. In 2018, the Housing Agency assessed 3,036 valid applications. Of these, it recommended 1,550 for approval. In 2019, the Housing Agency have assessed 2,271 valid applications of which 1,133 have been recommended for approval.
Local Authority
|
Total Applications Assessed
|
Total Applications Recommended for Approval
|
Carlow County Council
|
73
|
28
|
Cavan County Council
|
24
|
9
|
Clare County Council
|
87
|
36
|
Cork City Council
|
217
|
96
|
Cork County Council
|
414
|
209
|
Donegal County Council
|
51
|
22
|
Dublin City Council
|
610
|
368
|
Dún Laoghaire - Rathdown County Council
|
142
|
78
|
Fingal County Council
|
756
|
424
|
Galway City Council
|
109
|
58
|
Galway County Council
|
194
|
63
|
Kerry County Council
|
144
|
59
|
Kildare County Council
|
200
|
107
|
Kilkenny County Council
|
61
|
31
|
Laois County Council
|
125
|
61
|
Leitrim County Council
|
19
|
5
|
Limerick City & County Council
|
143
|
85
|
Longford County Council
|
55
|
26
|
Louth County Council
|
152
|
59
|
Mayo County Council
|
82
|
32
|
Meath County Council
|
324
|
212
|
Monaghan County Council
|
64
|
21
|
Offaly County Council
|
58
|
23
|
Roscommon County Council
|
59
|
23
|
Sligo County Council
|
72
|
34
|
South Dublin County Council
|
373
|
194
|
Tipperary County Council
|
152
|
67
|
Waterford City & County Council
|
115
|
39
|
Westmeath County Council
|
56
|
34
|
Wexford County Council
|
161
|
80
|
Wicklow County Council
|
215
|
100
|
Total
|
5307
|
2683
|
My Department publishes information on the overall number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns. Local authority approval means that an official letter of offer has been sent to a borrower (and therefore relates to a specific property and loan amount). Information on the RIHL for Quarter 2 2019, including in relation to the number and value of mortgage approvals and drawdowns, is available on the Department's website at the following link: www.housing.gov.ie/housing/statistics/house-prices-loans-and-profile-borrowers/local-authority-loan-activity.