Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 168: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the options, if any, being considered in relation to local authority housing loans; if local authorities will be permitted to allow those on shared ownership loans to transfer to annuity loans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9061/12]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 169: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the extent of arrears on local authority mortgages, by county, in 2010 and 2011; the amount that was paid on the subsidy element of the shared ownership loans in 2010 and 2011, and in respect of how many loans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9062/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 168 and 169 together.

My Department issued comprehensive guidance to local authorities on the treatment of mortgage arrears, including local authority mortgages for shared ownership transactions, in March 2010. That guidance was closely based on the Central Bank's first statutory Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears to ensure that cases of local authority mortgage arrears are handled in a manner that is sympathetic to the needs of the particular household, while also protecting the position of the local authority concerned.To reflect the content of the Central Bank's revised Code of Conduct – which replaced the previous code from 1 January 2011 and was informed by the deliberations of the Expert Group on Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt – my Department is currently preparing updated guidance to local authorities in consultation with the City and County Managers Association. This will further enable local authorities to provide a range of flexible repayment options for households in difficulty. In relation to shared ownership specifically, the full review of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 announced in the Government's housing policy statement in June 2011 has been broadened to include an examination of the shared ownership scheme.

Where any borrower, either from a local authority or from a private financial institution, is facing difficulties in meeting mortgage repayments, they should engage proactively and constructively with the lender to seek to achieve an agreed solution. The services of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service are also available to such borrowers and support is available through the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme.

In addition, section 34 of Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 provides local authorities with powers to deal flexibly with distressed borrowers.

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 end of September 2011 indicate that 6,202 of all local authority mortgages (including those drawn down for the purposes of purchasing houses under the various affordable housing schemes, including shared ownership and tenant purchase) are in arrears of more than 90 days. This represents 27.5% of the total number of loans. The table below provides the data on a county by county basis. My Department does not collect information in relation to payments on the subsidy element of shared ownership 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 8.1% 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.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 170: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of houses rented under the rental accommodation scheme, by county; the additional allocations that will be made in 2012 by county; the housing list by county; the other options available or are being considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9068/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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My Department collects information on the total number of accommodation units rented under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) but this is not broken down by type of accommodation. Since the scheme was introduced in late 2005, some 37,757 households have been transferred by local authorities from Rent Supplement to RAS and other social housing options. Of this figure 21,892 were housed directly under RAS.

The following table outlines the number of households provided with accommodation under RAS on a county by county basis from November 2005 up to the end of 2011.

My Department does not hold information on the number of households on local authorities' waiting lists. This figure continuously fluctuates as households are allocated housing and new households apply for housing support. Detailed information on the latest statutory assessment of housing need carried out in March 2011, including a breakdown by housing authority, is available on my Department's website www.environ.ie or on the Housing Agency's website at www.housing.ie.