Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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287. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to reduce the 10% deposit requirement for the Rebuilding Ireland home loan given that this is causing serious difficulty for potential applicants who have high rental costs at present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22793/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan Scheme is designed to enable credit worthy first-time buyers to access sustainable mortgage lending to purchase new or second-hand properties. The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan provides first-time buyers with access to mortgage finance that they may not otherwise have been able to afford at a higher interest rate. More details of this are set out in the FAQ's section of the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan and in the link below.

To support prudential lending and consistency of treatment for borrowers, a Loan to Value ratio of 90% applies to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan in line with the Central Bank's prudential lending guidelines. In order to avail of the loan, applicants must have a deposit equivalent to 10% of the market value of the property. There are no plans to change this criterion.

For prospective purchasers of newly-built properties, the availability, through the Revenue Commissioners, of the Help to Buy Initiative for first-time buyers may provide additional assistance to prospective applicants for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan.