Written answers

Thursday, 14 November 2019

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Home Loan Scheme

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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184. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of applications for Rebuilding Ireland home loans made to each local authority to date in 2019; the number approved; the number drawn down; the value of loans drawn down; the number pending and which cannot be approved due to funding constraints; the value of pending applications by local authority; the funding which will be made available in 2020; the mechanisms which will determine the way in which it will be distributed to local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46920/19]

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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185. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the resource implications of borrowing for the Rebuilding Ireland home loan; if borrowings are on the Government balance sheet; his plans to augment the amount available; the amount available since its introduction; the demand by local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46921/19]

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 184 and 185 together.

When the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan scheme was initially being developed, it was estimated that the drawdown of loans would be approximately €200 million over three years.  However, this loan product has proved to be more successful than initially anticipated. In the context of the scheme’s success my Department engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Finance with regard to the allocation for 2019.

I engaged early as I said I would. While discussions commenced in October 2018 on additional funding, the first tranche of €200m was only fully drawn down in August of this year. My Department wrote to all 31 local authorities on 15 August 2019 sanctioning an additional €363 million in funding for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan. This brings total funding for the Loan to over €563 million for 2018 and 2019 combined.

The RIHL is funded by financing provided to the local authorities by the Housing Finance Agency (HFA). As an on-balance sheet entity, the HFA's borrowing from  the non-Government sector forms part of General Government Debt. RIHL loans, however, do not impact on the General Government Balance as the RIHL scheme is treated as a loan under the European System of Accounts 2010 framework.  

Furthermore, the ESRI have been commissioned to conduct a review of the operation of the RIHL. The output of the review will be used to inform the development of the RIHL product and identify any reforms to be introduced if necessary to local authority mortgage lending via the RIHL in 2020 and beyond.

The Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses applications for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities to approve or refuse applications. Housing Agency recommendations are then considered by the Credit Committee in each local authority, which issues loan approvals. 

Each local authority must have in place a Credit Committee and it is a matter for the Committee to make the final decision on applications for loans, in accordance with the regulations, and having regard to the recommendations made by the Housing Agency. The value of pending applications is not tracked by my Department.

I have asked the Agency to compile figures on the numbers of applications that it has assessed and recommended to approve since the scheme began.  In 2018, the Housing Agency assessed 3,036 valid applications.  Of these, it recommended 1,550 for approval. In 2019, the Housing Agency have assessed 2,271 valid applications of which 1,133 have been recommended for approval.

Local Authority Total Applications Assessed Total Applications Recommended for Approval
Carlow County Council 73 28
Cavan County Council 24 9
Clare County Council 87 36
Cork City Council 217 96
Cork County Council 414 209
Donegal County Council 51 22
Dublin City Council 610 368
Dún Laoghaire - Rathdown County Council 142 78
Fingal County Council 756 424
Galway City Council 109 58
Galway County Council 194 63
Kerry County Council 144 59
Kildare County Council 200 107
Kilkenny County Council 61 31
Laois County Council 125 61
Leitrim County Council 19 5
Limerick City & County Council 143 85
Longford County Council 55 26
Louth County Council 152 59
Mayo County Council 82 32
Meath County Council 324 212
Monaghan County Council 64 21
Offaly County Council 58 23
Roscommon County Council 59 23
Sligo County Council 72 34
South Dublin County Council 373 194
Tipperary County Council 152 67
Waterford City & County Council 115 39
Westmeath County Council 56 34
Wexford County Council 161 80
Wicklow County Council 215 100
Total 5307 2683

My Department publishes information on the overall number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns. Local authority approval means that an official letter of offer has been sent to a borrower (and therefore relates to a specific property and loan amount). Information on the RIHL for Quarter 2 2019, including in relation to the number and value of mortgage approvals and drawdowns, is available on the Department's website at the following link: www.housing.gov.ie/housing/statistics/house-prices-loans-and-profile-borrowers/local-authority-loan-activity.

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