asked the Minister for Finance if he is aware that the rate of interest charged on loans under the Gaeltacht Housing Acts is 4¾ per cent., and the rate of interest charged on housing loans by the Land Commission is as low as 3½ per cent., and whether he will take steps to have the rate under the Gaeltacht Housing Acts reduced to 3½ per cent., thereby easing the burden on the people of the Gaeltacht areas.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Loans Interest under Gaeltacht Housing Acts.
I am aware that the current rate of interest on loans under the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts is 4¾ per cent. per annum. This rate, which applies to all advances made from the Local Loans Fund since the 1st October, 1934, was fixed so as to cover the cost of borrowing the money from the public and the expenses of the management of the Fund. It was not designed to bring in a profit to the Fund.
The position as regards the rate of interest charged on housing loans by the Land Commission is not as the Deputy states. The normal rate of annuity for the repayment of advances made by the Land Commission for the improvement of estates (including the building or reconstruction of houses) is 4¾ per cent. per annum. Advances at lower rates are confined to the residuum of commitments by the Land Commission under the Irish Land Acts, 1903 and 1909, and are not analogous to loans under the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts.
The reply to the last part of the question is in the negative.