Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy again. I have listened to the issues he has raised. Local authority mortgage lending has been successful to date. Between February 2018 and September 2022, approximately €517 million was drawn down by almost 3,100 borrowers through the Rebuilding Ireland home loan and the local authority home loan. Of this €517 million, €30 million was drawn down by 72 borrowers under the new local authority home loan up to September 2022. It is important to note the approval rate has no direct comparator in commercial bank lending as bank refusals are not available by comparison. We cannot see whether local authority home loan refusals are relatively high. A detailed credit assessment process is required to ensure that applicants do not take on unsustainable debt. I will take on board what the Deputy has asked regarding whether there could be a county-by-county assessment to see whether there is standardisation throughout the country. I will bring this to the attention of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien.

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