594. Deputy Dara Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if additional funding will be provided for the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme to Cork County Council; when this will be put in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15197/19]

Following a review of the two existing local authority home loan schemes, the House Purchase Loan and the Home Choice Loan, I introduced a new loan offering, known as the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan in February last year, to replace the existing schemes.

Since its launch in February 2018, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan has proven to be more successful than was initially anticipated. Discussions are ongoing with the Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform and Finance with regard to further funding for the scheme, and once these discussions have concluded my Department will be in touch with local authorities regarding their specific allocations for 2019. However, in the meantime, the scheme remains open and all local authorities should continue to receive and process applications up to and including the issuing of loans.