Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The figures the Minister of State produced are interesting. There is a 57% refusal rate. This is 57% throughout the entire country. We must remember this is an average. I understand that the refusal rates of certain local authorities are as high as 70%. This is the concern I have. If the average is 57%, it means some local authorities are proactive in assisting people. I ask that the Department look at the local authorities where the percentage is much higher than the average of 57%. I still think 57% is a very high refusal rate. We need to look at this.

If we build a local authority house, and this is not a criticism of people who avail of local authority housing, it costs the State €300,000 on average. This is being provided by the State. Here are people who are saving and once they get the mortgage they will not be dependent on the State for support. We need to be far more proactive in trying to see how we can streamline this and make sure that local authorities do not delay processing loan applications. We must also make sure that common criteria are applied by all local authorities and that one does not have a 70% refusal rate while another has a 35% refusal rate. This issue needs to be looked at.

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