Written answers

Tuesday, 3 July 2018

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Home Loan Scheme

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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569. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of Rebuilding Ireland home loan applications by local authority area; the number of approvals and drawdowns, respectively, by local authority area; and the average loan amount awarded in each local authority area in tabular form. [29165/18]

Photo of Gino KennyGino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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570. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of loans applied for, granted and refused, respectively, in each local authority area by the Housing Finance Agency under the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29199/18]

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 569 and 570 together.

As with the previous local authority home loan offerings, loan applications under the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan are made directly to the local authority in whose area the property proposed for purchase is situated. My Department does not directly collect information on the number of enquiries to local authorities regarding the loan or the number of loan applications received by local authorities.

However, as is currently the case, my Department will continue to publish information on the overall number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns. Information up to Q3 2017 is available on the Department's website at the following link: , and this information will be updated on a quarterly basis as additional data is compiled.

The Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses valid loan applications that are made to the local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities as to whether loans should be offered to applicants.

I have asked the Agency to centrally compile figures on the numbers of applications that it has assessed and the most recent figures, as at the end of June, indicate that the Agency had received a total of 1,963 applications for assessment from local authorities. This was made up of 734 applications from Cork, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow and 781 applications from Dublin. There were 448 applications received from counties outside those listed.

Of the 1,963 applications received, 1,510 (or 77%) were deemed to be valid. Of these valid applications, 1,326 had been assessed and 696 of these (52%) had been recommended for approval. The average turnaround time for applications underwritten by the Housing Agency at the end of June was 11 calendar days.

Each local authority must have in place a credit committee and it is a matter for the committee to make the decision on applications for loans, in accordance with the regulations, having regard to the recommendations made by the Housing Agency.

With regard to the values of the loans approved to date, figures are not available concerning the breakdown of amounts approved in the manner referred to. However, the Housing Agency has advised that the average loan amount for the 1,326 applications assessed at end-June was €153,237 and the average loan amount for the 696 applications recommended for approval was €190,739.

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