Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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76. To ask the Minister for Finance if lifetime mortgages are classified as housing loans for the purposes of the Credit Consumer Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36438/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Section 2 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 (as amended) defines a "housing loan" and it includes "an agreement for the provision of credit to a person on the security of a mortgage of a freehold or leasehold estate or an interest in land on which a house is constructed where the house is to be used, or to continue to be used, as the principal residence of the person or the person's dependents".  While the interpretation of legislation is ultimately a matter for the Courts, it is considered that a "lifetime mortgage", which is a loan that is secured on the borrower's home, falls within that definition.