Pa Daly
Ceist:331. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the inclusion of carer’s allowance in income calculations for local authority home loans. [50097/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 11 October 2022
Ceisteanna (331)
Freagraí scríofa
The Local Authority Home Loan is a Government backed mortgage for those on modest or low incomes who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It is a successor loan to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan which was introduced in February 2018. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants. The loan can be used both for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build.
The Local Authority Home Loan has an upper gross income limit for scheme eligibility, which takes into account all relevant household income. The income limit is €75,000 for joint applicants. It is €65,000 for individual applicants seeking to buy in the Greater Dublin Area, Cork and Galway and €50,000 in the rest of the country. The income taken into account in the eligibility assessment for the Local Authority Home Loan is taxable income, which includes carer’s allowance. This, as well as other elements of the scheme, is continually kept under review to ensure that the scheme remains relevant.
The Local Authority Home Loan has wider eligibility criteria than the previous Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, in that the income ceiling for individual applicants seeking to buy in the Greater Dublin Area, Cork and Galway was raised from €50,000 to €65,000, showing that the scheme has adapted to changing circumstances over time.
Decisions on all housing loan applications must be made in accordance with the Regulations establishing the scheme and the credit policy that underpins the scheme, in order to ensure prudence and consistency in approaches in the best interests of both borrowers and lending local authority.
The final decision on Local Authority Home Loan applications is a matter for the relevant local authority).
Further information can be found on the dedicated website localauthorityhomeloan.ie/