Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My Topical Issue matter relates to the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme. This is an effort to get to the bottom of where exactly in the process stands the proposed increase in the fund. As the Minister of State is well aware, the initial fund of €200 million which has been in place since early 2018 is not going to be anywhere near enough to meet demand. The Government has stated it has been surprised by the uptake and the level of interest. I do not see why it should be surprised. If it is in a position to provide people with a long-term guarantee on the interest rate, for example - it is an attractive rate - and also prepared to examine loan applications from people who are unable to access a mortgage at the level they need from a bank, it is no surprise that the level of interest in and demand for the scheme is very high.

Roughly since January this year, it has been evident that more money is going to be needed. We have been hearing since from the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, that he has requested an extra €200 million each year for the next three years. That means that an extra €600 million will be required and it would be additional borrowing by the Housing Finance Agency, HFA. We were told that the Central Bank was to be consulted and it was. I put this issue to Governor Lane when he came before the Oireachtas finance committee in March. In essence, he confirmed that there was no objection from the Central Bank on the grounds of financial stability, given the relatively insignificant amount of money involved in the context of the overall mortgage market. That hurdle was cleared. Therefore, I am at a loss to know why we still do not have clarity on the eve of the Dáil going into recess.

The Minister of State will no doubt reply by stating the scheme is operating as normal and that all applications are being considered and approved and that funding is being drawn down, but that has not been the case in full in recent months. Some local authorities have publicly stated they are no longer accepting applications. The Minister intervened. He responded in the Dáil and issued an instruction to the local authorities. They must accept applications, process them and continue to approve grants which will continue to be drawn down. However, his cannot go on forever. If we examine the figures, about 4,200 applications were assessed up to the end of May and slightly more than half have been approved. A fraction of the approved grants have been drawn down. The overall sum drawn down is about €140 million. There is not, therefore, enough money in the pot to meet the funding requirements of approved applicants. I know that there is a time lag and that it can take a while for people to go through the process and be ready to draw down the money. However, that day is coming. There is a suspicion that the consideration of applications has been slowed down because there is a squeeze on funding. I want the Minister of State to give a categorical assurance to the House that all local authorities are open for applications, accepting them, processing them, issuing approvals and that loans are being drawn down unimpeded.

I turn to my real purpose. When are we going to have clarity on whether the extra funding of €600 million will be approved? We know that the Central Bank does not have an objection to it. We also know that the HFA has access to credit and can draw down additional moneys. Where exactly is the blockage and when is the issue going to be resolved?

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