Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 334: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of persons in local authority housing in rent or mortgage arrears for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and to date in 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29659/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I refer to the reply to Question No. 366 of 27 September 2011. My Department has since 2008 collected data on rent arrears, calculated by the total monetary amounts and not by individual persons or households, owing to local authorities and those data were set out in the above-mentioned reply.

My Department has recently commenced the collation of data from local authorities on the number of loans in arrears broken down by the length of time in arrears. The data to mid-2011 indicate that 6,197 such loans are in arrears of more than 90 days which represents 26.8% of the total number of loans.

The use of 90 days as a comparative metric in considering the level of arrears is consistent with the approach adopted by the Central Bank in compiling information in respect of private lenders' loans. The Central Bank's data show that 16.17% of mortgages in the private sector are now either in arrears for more than 90 days or have been restructured. It is to be expected that the rate of arrears among local authority mortgage holders would be higher than the rate of arrears generally given local authorities' position as lenders of last resort.