Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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659. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government how many people in County Mayo, have been successful in their local authority home loan and fresh start scheme applications, respectively; the number of applications made through Mayo County Council; the number if unsuccessful applications in County Mayo for 2022 and 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12476/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Local Authority Home Loan (LAHL) is a Government-backed mortgage for creditworthy applicants 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. Applicants who may meet the Fresh Start criteria apply to the general Local Authority Home Loan Scheme, there is no separate Fresh Start scheme. 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 the 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 lenders, the local authorities.

The most recent figures provided by the Agency on the number of valid Local Authority Home Loan applications that it has assessed for each local authority from 4 January 2022 up to the end of January 2024 are set out in the below table:

My Department 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).

Information on drawdowns, approvals, average drawdowns, and average approvals for the Local Authority Home Loan is available on my Department’s website at the following link, which is updated as soon as figures are available:

www.gov.ie/en/collection/42d2f-local-authority-loan-activity/#local-authority-loans-approvedpaid .