Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the number of applications to the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme processed by the Housing Agency; the number recommended by the agency; the number refused; the number sent back for further information; the amount recommended; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

The Housing Agency provides a central support service which assesses applications for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities to approve or refuse applications.  Last year, I asked the Agency to compile figures on its processing of applications.  The most recent figures, as at the end of January 2019, indicate that the Agency had assessed 3,916 applications since the scheme began. Of these, 667 were deemed invalid, 1,660 were recommended for approval and 1,598 were recommended for refusal.  The data provided does not include figures on the number of applications returned for further information.

Each local authority must have in place a credit committee and it is a matter for the committee to make the decision on applications for loans, in accordance with the regulations, having regard to the recommendations made by the Housing Agency.