Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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553. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of stock audits completed, by local authority, in tabular form. [38833/25]

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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554. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government whether local authorities can outsource stock audits. [38834/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 553 and 554 together.

The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966.

Notwithstanding the legal obligation on local authorities to manage and maintain their housing stock my Department is financially supporting local authorities in undertaking stock condition surveys supported by ICT Asset Management system. To that end, my Department provides a contribution of €150 per survey and it is a matter for each local authority how they utilise this funding. Furthermore in 2025 all 31 local authorities are now live on the ICT Asset Management system.

There are c.150,000 local authority homes and the ambition is to have stock condition surveys carried out on all local authority homes and to complete this work over 4 to 5 years, with 2025 considered as year zero. These surveys will inform future work programmes and ensure they are strategic and focused with a cyclical programme of inspection, repair and replacement. Currently surveys are progressing with over 4,376 completed up to mid July.

The number of stock condition surveys completed by the Local Authorities is as follows:

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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555. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number of applicants for Rebuilding Ireland home loans/local authority home loans from Cork in 2025; the total number that have been successful; the total number that have been refused; the average time from application to decision, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38838/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan closed for new applications when it was replaced by the Local Authority Home Loan (LAHL) on 4 January 2022. 

Applications for a Local Authority Home Loan are made through the individual Local Authorities and 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.  

Information on the number of persons making applications for a LAHL to local authorities, the number of applications refused or the average processing time for an application is not held by my Department. 

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 Local Authority Home Loans [and its predecessor] are available on my Department’s website at the following link: 

Data for Q1 2025 is currently being complied and is expected to be published shortly.