Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
2734. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of applications received under the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme to date; the number of loans that have been approved; the number of applications rejected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34465/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs with the previous local authority home loan offerings, loan applications under the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan are made directly to the local authority in whose area the property proposed for purchase is situated. My Department does not directly collect information on the number of loan applications received by local authorities.
However, as is currently the case, my Department will continue to publish information on the overall number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns. Information up to Q4 2017 is available on the Department's website at the following link: www.housing.gov.ie/housing/statistics/house-prices-loans-and-profile-borrowers/local-authority-loan-activity, and this information will be updated on a quarterly basis as additional data is compiled.
The Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses valid loan applications that are made to the local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities as to whether loans should be offered to applicants. I have asked the Agency to centrally compile figures on the numbers of applications that it has assessed and the most recent figures, as at the end of June, indicate that the Agency had received a total of 1,963 applications for assessment from local authorities. Of the applications received, 1,510 (or 77%) were deemed to be valid. Of these valid applications, 1,326 had been assessed and 696 of these (52%) had been recommended for approval.
Each local authority must have in place a credit committee and it is a matter for the committee to make the decision on applications for loans, in accordance with the regulations, under which the scheme is established, having regard to the recommendations made by the Housing Agency.
