Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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715. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the funding mechanisms available for low-cost loans for multi-unit development older builds, that is, pre-1980; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15499/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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This Department operates the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, which is targeted at first time buyers who wish to own their own home, have access to an adequate deposit and have the capacity to repay a mortgage, but who are unable to access a mortgage sufficient for them to purchase their first home.

To be eligible for a Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan you must:

- be a first-time buyer;

- be aged between 18 and 70 years;

- be in continuous employment for a minimum of two years, as the primary earner or be in continuous employment for a minimum of one year, as a secondary earner

- have an annual gross income of not more than €50,000 as a single applicant or not more than €75,000 combined as joint applicants;

With a Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan you can borrow up to 90% of the market value of a residential property. Maximum market values of the property that can be purchased or self-built are:

- €320,000 in the counties Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow,

and

- €250,000 in the rest of the country.

This limits the amount that can be borrowed to no more than €288,000 in the counties Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow and no more than €225,000 in the rest of the country.

Eligibility is subject to submission of a complete Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan application form and confirmation by your local authority.

The final decision on loan approval is a matter for the relevant local authority and its credit committee on a case-by-case basis.  Decisions on all housing loan applications must be made in accordance with the Regulations establishing the scheme and the credit policy that underpins the scheme, in order to ensure prudence and consistency in approaches in the best interests of both borrowers and the lending local authorities.

Further information on the scheme is available on the dedicated website www.rebuildingirelandhomeloan.ie.

Applicants may use the scheme for properties which are not new build so there is nothing preventing someone from using the scheme to purchase older builds once the property meets the scheme's criteria.