Written answers
Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
Departmental Schemes
Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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108. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on the local authority home loan; and the number of applications across each county versus the number of approvals. [22001/23]
Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Local Authority Home Loan is a Government-backed mortgage for those who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants. The loan can be used both for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build.
The Housing Agency provides a central support service that assesses applications for the Local Authority Home Loan, on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to local authorities to approve or refuse applications.
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.
The figures provided by the Housing Agency on the number of Local Authority Home Loan applications that it has assessed and recommended for approval for each local authority from 1 January 2022 to end of March 2023 are set out in the below table:
| Local Authority | Applications Assessed | Recommended to Approve |
|---|---|---|
| Carlow County Council | 40 | 14 |
| Cavan County Council | 18 | 8 |
| Clare County Council | 45 | 20 |
| Cork City Council | 129 | 42 |
| Cork County Council | 263 | 86 |
| Donegal County Council | 23 | 10 |
| Dublin City Council | 238 | 140 |
| Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown CC | 53 | 24 |
| Fingal County Council | 176 | 98 |
| Galway City Council | 61 | 34 |
| Galway County Council | 98 | 36 |
| Kerry County Council | 83 | 20 |
| Kildare County Council | 103 | 43 |
| Kilkenny County Council | 54 | 30 |
| Laois County Council | 53 | 20 |
| Leitrim County Council | 15 | 5 |
| Limerick City & County Council | 62 | 28 |
| Longford County Council | 35 | 18 |
| Louth County Council | 123 | 37 |
| Mayo County Council | 41 | 20 |
| Meath County Council | 143 | 96 |
| Monaghan County Council | 50 | 10 |
| Offaly County Council | 25 | 11 |
| Roscommon County Council | 40 | 6 |
| Sligo County Council | 29 | 7 |
| South Dublin County Council | 140 | 58 |
| Tipperary County Council | 67 | 30 |
| Waterford City & County Council | 108 | 15 |
| Westmeath County Council | 36 | 20 |
| Wexford County Council | 95 | 35 |
| Wicklow County Council | 111 | 34 |
| Total | 2557 | 1055 |
My Department regularly publishes information on the 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).
Local Authority drawdowns, approvals, average drawdowns, and average approvals to Q3 2022 are available on my Department’s website at the following link, which will be updated as soon additional figures are available:
www.gov.ie/en/collection/42d2f-local-authority-loan-activity/#local-authority-loans-approvedpaid
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