Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 February 2022
337. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on extending the fresh start scheme to include persons who went through voluntary settlement processes including the Money Advice and Budgeting Service rather than availed of statutory insolvency solutions. [9164/22]
View answerA ‘Fresh Start’ principle applies for applications to State loan schemes such the Local Authority Home Loan.
The following categories of persons are eligible to apply for the Local Authority Home Loan under the Fresh Start principle:
- Applicant(s) that previously purchased or built a residential property, but is divorced and has left the property and divested themselves of their interest in the property are eligible.
- Applicant(s) that previously purchased a residential property, but have been divested of this through insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings, are eligible to apply. The applicant must be discharged from bankruptcy proceedings. It should be noted that a return to solvency should not be interpreted as a return to creditworthiness, which is a separate assessment.
Section 10(5) of the Affordable Housing Act requires an applicant to go through an insolvency process for eligibility as a Fresh Start applicant. It does not however include persons who went through voluntary settlement processes, including the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, but rather availed of statutory insolvency solutions.
The final decision regarding the Local Authority Home Loan application is made by the relevant Local Authority Credit Committee on a case by case basis.
Further details can be found on localauthorityhomeloan.ie/.
