I propose to take Questions Nos. 277 and 280 together.
The Housing Agency underwriters 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.
The Agency has confirmed the average turnaround time for applications to be assessed (from date received to date returned with recommendation) in October 2021 was 5 working days. However, some applications may take longer to assess due to the need to verify aspects of the application etc.
Processing of a complete and valid application by a local authority takes approximately 6-8 weeks. This period may vary during the current COVID-19 pandemic and depending on the local authority. This is an estimate as my Department does not collect data on the average time taken by local authorities to process Rebuilding Ireland and local authority loans.
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.