Richard Bruton
Ceist:212 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he envisages change in the terms of the mortgage protection plan; and the terms that will apply during 2003. [23031/02]
Written Answers. - Local Authority Housing Loans.
The local authorities' mortgage protection plan has applied, subject to the terms of the plan, to all house purchase loans approved by local authorities on or after 1 July 1986. The terms of the cover under the mortgage protection plan were initially negotiated by a sub-committee of the County and City Managers Association, the Housing Finance Agency and a representative of my Department and are renegotiated periodically by the committee. The cost of the mortgage protection plan is met by way of an additional charge, currently 0.67%, to the rate of interest charged on individual loans and this rate is guaranteed until 31 March 2003.
The current mortgage protection plan is underwritten by Hibernian Life and to ensure continuation of the scheme at the current competitive pricing structure it has recently sought information in relation to the age profile of a random sample of over 2,000 existing borrowers. This will enable it to assess the scheme and decide whether to continue at the current rate after 31 March 2003.