Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

443. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of local authority home loans approved and drawn down for Cork county for 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29723/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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. It is the successor to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan which commenced on 1 February 2018.

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).

Information on drawdowns, approvals, average drawdowns, and average approvals for both the Local Authority Home Loan and Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan up to Q4 2023 is available at the following link, which will be updated as soon as figures are available:

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. According to the Housing Agency, from 1 January 2024 to the end of May this year, 65 valid applications have been assessed in Cork City and County with 31 of these recommended for approval. As the Local Authority Home Loan is demand led, and the level of loan drawdowns depends upon the individual outcomes of applicants' home searches, it is not possible to predict the likely level of drawdowns this year.