Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 December 2019
771. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if he will consider amending the criteria of the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme to make it available to persons that previously owned a home but had it repossessed, voluntarily surrendered it or have been through an insolvency process, but that otherwise meet all the criteria for the scheme. [53226/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan Scheme enables credit-worthy first-time buyers to access sustainable mortgage lending to purchase new or second-hand properties in a suitable price range, where they cannot obtain sufficient mortgage finance from a commercial lender.
As with the previous local authority loan offerings, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is available to first-time buyers only. There is no change in this regard. This is set out in the regulations governing the Scheme to ensure the effective targeting of limited resources. There are no plans to change this criterion.
Applicants for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan must be of good credit standing and have a satisfactory credit record. The Housing Agency provides a central credit assessment service to local authorities and credit checks are undertaken as part of the credit assessment process. The final decision on loan approval is a matter for the relevant local authority and its credit committee on a case-by-case basis. Decisions on all housing loan applications must be made in accordance with the statutory credit policy that underpins the scheme, in order to ensure prudence and consistency in approaches in the best interests of both borrowers and the lending local authorities.
A person who has been discharged from bankruptcy or an insolvency process and is eligible in all other respects, including being a first-time buyer, for a Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan may apply for a loan and will be subject to the same credit assessment process that applies to all applicants.
