Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
569. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authority home loans approved and drawn down in each local authority for 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form; if he is satisfied with the current timelines on processing applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35692/23]
View answer638. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authority home loans applied for throughout the State; the number per year; the number per county; the number paid to date; if the information will be provided, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36598/23]
View answer660. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authority home loans that have been issued in each local authority; and his plans to revise income limits for same. [37073/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 569, 638 and 660 together.
The Local Authority Home Loan (LAHL) is a Government-backed mortgage for creditworthy applicants who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants. The loan can be used both for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build. The Local Authority Home Loan is the successor to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL). While the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan closed to new entrants in 2022, outstanding approvals and applications in progress at that time continued to be processed.
My Department regularly publishes information on the 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 drawdowns, approvals, average drawdowns, and average approvals for the Local Authority Home Loan and the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan for 2022 is available on my Department’s website at the following link, which will be updated as soon as figures are available:
www.gov.ie/en/collection/42d2f-local-authority-loan-activity/#local-authority-loans-approvedpaid .
Processing of a complete and valid application by a local authority takes approximately 6-8 weeks. This period may vary depending on the local authority and the complexity of each application. My Department does not collect data on the average time taken by local authorities to process Local Authority Home Loans.
I announced increases to the income limits for the Local Authority Home Loan from 1 March this year ; single applicants must not be earning greater than €70,000 annual gross income in the previous tax years, while joint applicants must not be earning greater than €85,000 annual combined gross income in the previous tax year. While there are no plans at present to further increase the income price limits, it will be kept under review.
