Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is frustrating that it is taking longer than I would have liked. The main reason is that this is a first for the European Investment Bank and the European institutions. They have never before engaged in direct lending support to consumers. They have to get it right and make sure all their qualifying criteria and all the processing adheres to European law and so on. That is the reason it is happening later than I would have liked.

The scheme will begin this quarter. It is coming in the coming weeks. I cannot announce the rates in advance of the decisions in that regard by the banks. They have to put together their loan packages and arrangements. They will be doing that within a number of weeks and publishing and publicising them. People will see it is a very attractive proposition. There is significant help for householders through both the EIB support and direct Government support to keep interest rates down, which will make the economics of transitioning people's homes far more effective.

Yes, people need to know what the interest rate will be. As I said, that information is coming very shortly. The key detail they need to know is that they can get an unsecured loan of up to €75,000 for up to ten years. The savings they will make on the energy reductions will start to make real economic sense. That will be achieved by way of the low interest rate the Government has managed to create through this intervention we have made. The loans are coming. They will be announced this quarter, not in the next one. The banks have to lead the process out and put out their loan offers. I cannot pre-empt that but it is coming very shortly.

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