256. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of allowances paid under the mortgage allowance scheme in each of the years 2015 to 2025 and to date in 2026, broken down by local authority, in tabular form; the total Exchequer expenditure under the scheme in each of those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53987/26]

257. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the date on which the amount of the allowance payable under the mortgage allowance scheme, currently €11,450, was last revised; if his Department has undertaken an assessment of the adequacy of the allowance having regard to the increase in house prices and mortgage costs since that date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53988/26]

258. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has compared the cost to the Exchequer of an allowance under the mortgage allowance scheme with the average cost of delivering one additional social home; if he will review the scheme, including the level of the allowance and the minimum mortgage requirement, with a view to increasing its effectiveness in freeing up social housing stock; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53989/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 256 to 258, inclusive, together.

The Mortgage Allowance scheme provides for an allowance of up to €11,450 payable over a 5-year period, to tenants or tenant purchasers of local authority housing, to assist them to purchase or have a private house built with a mortgage. The current rates are underpinned by the Housing (Mortgage Allowance) Regulations 2001 and have been in place since 1 January 2002. New applications are still being accepted by local authorities under the scheme, and further details are available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/service/b66ea-mortgage-allowance-scheme/

Details of the applications received and granted by local authority under the scheme are available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/fd048-affordable-housing-and-part-v-statistics/

The current rates are underpinned by the Housing (Mortgage Allowance) Regulations 2001 and have been in place since 1 January 2002. New applications are still being accepted by local authorities and there are no plans to undertake a review of the scheme at present.