Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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1195. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of Rebuilding Ireland loans approved each of the local authorities throughout 2018; the extent to which newer and more ambitious targets have been set for 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1732/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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My Department publishes information on the overall number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns. Information up to Q3 2018, including in relation to number and value of mortgage drawdowns, 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.

In addition, the Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses 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 recommended for approval, the most recent figures, as at the end of December 2018, indicate that the Agency had recommended a total of 1,550 applications for approval since the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme launched, as set out in the following table:

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.

In relation to the Deputy's query concerning targets for the scheme for 2019, as the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is a mortgage product that is available to all eligible applicants, it is by its nature a demand-led scheme. As such there are no targets set for its uptake on an annual basis.