Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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392. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will respond to correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27517/25]

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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393. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide the details of the interest rate increases/decreases on all variable and fixed rates on the Rebuilding Ireland home loans in each local authority from January 2022 to April 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27536/25]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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400. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on a matter (details supplied) relating to increases in interest rates charged to holders of ‘Rebuilding Ireland’ home loans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27670/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 392, 393 and 400 together.

The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL) was launched on 1st February 2018. At launch borrowers had the option to select a variable or fixed interest rate for their loan. The interest rate charged for the loan applied nationally across all local authorities. The loan was replaced by the Local Authority Home Loan on 4 January 2022.

The variable interest rate for the RIHL is not directly linked to the European Central Bank (ECB) refinancing rates. Therefore an increase or decrease in the ECB refinancing rate does not have a direct impact on the interest rate charged on local authority mortgages.

Local authorities borrow from the Housing Finance Agency to finance their mortgage lending. While the rate of interest charged by the Housing Finance Agency to local authorities is determined by the cost of finance on international markets, the monetary policy decisions of the ECB does ultimately have an indirect influence on these costs. Where there is a change in the cost of borrowing for local authorities from the Housing Finance Agency my Department instructs local authorities to change the interest rates charged to their borrowers.

The variable interest rate charged for the loan at launch was 2.3%. This rate was increased in December 2022 by 0.5%, in April 2023 by 1.0% and October 2024 by 0.2%. The current interest rate of 4% has applied since then.

The fixed interest rate for the loan with a duration of up to 25 years at launch was 2.0%. This rate increased in January 2020 by 1.3%, and was reduced in September 2021 by 0.25%. These rates apply for the duration of the loan.

The fixed interest rate for the loan with a duration of between 25 and 30 years at launch was 2.25%. This rate increased in January 2020 by 1.3%, and was reduced in September 2021 by 0.25%. These rates apply for the duration of the loan.

The RIHL closed for new applications with the introduction of the Local Authority Home Loan (LAHL) on 4 January 2022. As an transition measure applications in progress on this date were carried over and processed at the prevailing LAHL Interest on the date of drawdown. This rate was 3.05% for loans up to 25 years and 3.3% for loan over 25 years on introduction of the new Loan.