Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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556. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has any plans to raise the €250,000 threshold for local authority home loans in counties Carlow and Kilkenny, given the increase in house prices across the two counties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1604/23]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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581. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is considering raising the house price thresholds for the local authority mortgages in line with average house prices. [2126/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 556 and 581 together.

The Local Authority Home Loan was launched in January 2022. It is a Government backed mortgage for those who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It is available to first-time buyers and "fresh start" applicants to purchase a new or second-hand property, or to self-build.

The Local Authority Home Loan has a maximum house price limit of €320,000 in Dublin, Louth, Wicklow, Wicklow, Meath, Cork and Galway, and €250,000 in the rest of the country, including Carlow and Kilkenny.

These limits are currently under review to ensure that the scheme remains relevant in the current housing market.

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 lending local authority.

The final decision on Local Authority Home Loan applications is a matter for the relevant local authority.

Further information can be found on the dedicated website localauthorityhomeloan.ie/