Rebuilding Ireland home loans
Deputy Munster claimed local authorities had been told to stop approving home loans under the scheme and asked if funding had been halted. The Tánaiste said demand was strong, the scheme was successful, and funding had not stopped, though future allocations had to be sustainable.
Louth County Council has confirmed that it received instructions to stop issuing home loan approvals under the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme. These are the very loans the Government stated would assist families on low to middle incomes and first-time buyers who had been turned down by the banks. Over half of the €200 million in the fund has been drawn down in what is the first year of a three-year scheme. The take-up is a clear indication of the need for this funding and, more importantly, additional funding. Why did the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government issue an instruction to Louth County Council to cease issuing Rebuilding Ireland home loans? Officials in Louth County Council are hardly making it up. Are they making it up, or did the Department instruct them to stop issuing loans?
Comment on this
The Housing Agency has recommended 1,772 applications for approval to the end of February this year. At the end of February the agency had assessed 4,153 applications since the scheme had opened. Clearly, there is a lot of demand for the scheme which is proving to be very successful, despite some initial criticism of it. There has been a big uptake of it and we need to make sure it is adequately funded. We cannot approve the allocation of money that is not available. Therefore, the Ministers for Housing, Planning and Local Government and Finance are looking at ways by which we can continue the scheme and make sure it is properly funded in order that the demand can be met.
Comment on this
Has the funding been stopped? That is my question.