Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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441. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the difficulty for applicants for Rebuilding Ireland home loans in meeting some of the criteria for proof of continuity of income in sectors which are reopening, particularly in circumstances in which contracts or freelancing is the norm; and if he will consider amending the credit policy used by local authorities to take account of the realities of the present situation. [50500/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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To be eligible for a Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, you must be in continuous employment for a minimum of two years, as a primary applicant or be in continuous employment for a minimum of one year, as a secondary applicant.

For persons employed on a contract basis, details of contract income over the last two years must be provided. Evidence that tax payments are up to date is also required.

Contract income can be treated in the same way as ordinary income provided:

- The applicant works in an industry where contract income is regarded as the norm e.g. teaching, medical profession and ICT.

- The applicant has been on contract in the same line of business for at least the last two years or, where recently gone on contract, has been employed in the same industry for at least the previous two years.

- The current contract has at least three months left to run and there is an indication from the employer that it is likely to be renewed.

In light of the COVID-19 situation, the requirement that a primary earner must have at least two years continuous employment and the second applicant must have at least one year of continuous employment is relaxed temporarily. Periods where an applicant was unemployed as a direct result of the COVID-19 situation will not be deemed as a break in the required continuous employment and will be disregarded if certain conditions are met, including:

- Applicant became unemployed in or after March 2020 and returned to employment.

- Applicant has resumed continuous employment for a period of at least three months post their COVID-19 unemployment.

- Applicant can provide satisfactory evidence of the above to their local authority as part of the application.

Continuous employment does not need to be permanent, but continuous in nature. This means the applicant may be in the same employment or in more than one employment for that period, where a break in employment has lasted no more than 4 weeks. Multiple casual employments will not be considered eligible.