asked the Minister for the Environment the number of people to date who have applied for loans from the new Housing Finance Agency; and when he intends to sanction such loans.
20.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Housing Finance Agency.
19.
asked the Minister for the Environment his intentions regarding the Housing Finance Agency in the light of the newspaper report that they have stopped processing loan applications.
21.
asked the Minister for the Environment when the legislation on the Housing Finance Agency will be implemented.
22.
asked the Minister for the Environment his intentions in regard to the Housing Finance Agency.
23.
asked the Minister for the Environment his plans in regard to the Housing Finance Agency; what specifically he intends to do in regard to applications already lodged with the agency; the reason no further applications are being processed at present; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
24.
asked the Minister for the Environment when precise details of how to operate Housing Finance Agency schemes will be communicated to local authorities; and when the first loans are likely to be approved.
25.
andMr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment the aspects of the Housing Finance Agency scheme which he regards as unsatisfactory; and if he is advising house purchasers not to use the scheme because of these alleged unsatisfactory aspects.
26.
asked the Minister for the Environment the number of applications received for housing loans through the scheme operated by the Housing Finance Agency; the number of approvals granted; the amount of money paid to date to successful applicants under such approvals; the number of successful applicants still waiting to receive moneys pursuant to such approvals; and the Government's policy in relation to operating the agency's loan scheme.
27.
asked the Minister for the Environment the average length of time it takes to process applications for housing loans under the scheme operated through the Housing Finance Agency; the average length of time between receipt of an application for a loan and the actual receipt of moneys following loan approval; and the plans that exist, if any, to expedite the present procedures.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 to 27, inclusive, together.
On a point of order, I anticipated that the Minister might try to take these questions together. The questions are different. For instance, No. 19 is a separate matter and in fairness, at seven minutes to 3.30 p.m., the Minister should not be permitted to take the questions together. There would not be time for supplementaries.
I can assure the Deputy that, if I am permitted to answer the questions, I will give a comprehensive reply and that to the best of my ability I will give the House any further information that may be required.
Since there are so many questions being answered together it would be wrong not to continue Question Time after 3.30 p.m. in order to allow supplementaries to be put.
Perhaps it would be more fair if the Minister replied and if we then asked supplementaries on the first five, leaving supplementaries on the remainder until tomorrow when the Minister could, if he so wished, read the entire reply again.
Is the Minister agreeable to that suggestion?
No. What I am proposing is in line with standard procedure. It is something on which I have always got agreement. As I have assured the House, I will be as forthcoming as possible in answering any questions that may be put to me.
But is the Minister agreeable to the suggestion of Deputy Barry?
What I have here is a comprehensive reply.
I am sure that the Minister will give us a comprehensive reply. But we are caught in a kind of time trap and, unless we can continue with the supplementaries of those questions tomorrow, it will be difficult for us to elicit all the information we require.
Perhaps we could leave over this group of questions until tomorrow and continue now with No. 28.
Perhaps we could have the answer now and leave over the supplementaries until tomorrow. I am anxious to have agreement from both sides.
That is acceptable to us.
I have never been awkward, so I agree to that suggestion, too. I will now read the reply to Questions Nos. 19 to 27, inclusive.
On 2 May, 1982, the Minister announced that local authorities may approve loans under the Housing Finance Agency Act, 1981, on the basis of the scheme already announced. He stated that, because of serious reservations regarding some aspects of the scheme, particularly the long term obligations of borrowers, the Government intend to review the scheme in the context of the publication of a comprehensive White Paper on Housing around the end of this year. A circular letter in the matter was issued by the agency to local authorities on 3 May.
During the course of the rushed debate in Dáil Éireann last December on the Housing Finance Agency Bill, I outlined my reservations on this loan scheme. These reservations are still valid
My main concern is the mortgage rate based on inflation plus 3.25 per cent. It is difficult to predict the relationship between incomes and inflation in the next 25 years. In any event, the borrower will usually find it more difficult to resell his house than under the conventional loan scheme, particularly if he lives in some rural areas. In a sense, he is locked into his house. There is a distinct possibility that the mortgage rate charged will be greater in many years than the market mortgage rate.
I regret that the previous administration saw fit to reject various amendments tabled by me and my colleagues at the Committee Stage of the Bill, which were designed to meet the reservations we had in mind.
Where a potential borrower under the scheme seeks my advice, I invariably suggest that he should try to finance the house purchase by way of a conventional loan. It is only in circumstances where this is not feasible that I advise him to consider a loan under the agency scheme. In these cases, I advise him to consider carefully the long-term implications of the loan repayments under the scheme.
Up to the middle of last month, some 1,600 completed applications for loans under the scheme were received by local authorities. Further statistical data in the form sought by Deputies are not available at present. There will be no undue delay in advancing individual loans under the scheme when legal and other formalities have been complied with. The agency will make the necessary funds available to housing authorities for this purpose in due course.
The agency propose to issue a circular letter to local authorities around the end of this month, clarifying most of the outstanding points. The agency are consulting with the authorities with a view to ensuring that the scheme is operated and monitored satisfactorily.
The remaining Questions will appear on to-morrow's Order Paper.