Limerick TD questions government position on Rebuilding Ireland Scheme

IT HAS been revealed that an extra €200 million annually has been requested by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to fund the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan Scheme up until 2021, but the government position on the future of the scheme remains unclear, according to Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins. 

Commenting on the matter, Deputy Collins said that in response to a recent parliamentary question submitted by Fianna Fail, Minister Donohoe has confirmed that the Department of Housing has sought an additional €600m for the loan scheme up to year 2021. 

“However, there is no indication as to whether this request will be approved or even when a decision will be made,” Deputy Collins said.

“In the past number of weeks, I have been contacted by many anxious prospective homebuyers who have applied for funding under the scheme. They are now left in the dark, with no indication as to whether additional funding will be made available under the scheme. We are told there is a review of the scheme underway but we have scant details of the nature of this review,” he added.

Deputy Collins said It shouldn’t come as such a surprise to the government that the original funding allocation of €200m would be used up so quickly. 

“Ministers Donohoe and Murphy need to conclude this review without delay and to provide clarity to all the prospective home buyers interested in the scheme,” said Deputy Collins.

“Fianna Fail has written to the Governor of the Central Bank in an effort to establish whether the Central Bank supports an expansion of this loan scheme. The Central Bank’s position on the potential expansion of the scheme will be pivotal as the loans granted under the scheme fall outside the Bank’s own macro-prudential rules,” he added.

Deputy Collins also claimed that ‘across eight years in power, Fine Gael have built no affordable housing and their attempt to provide access to credit for first-time buyers has left a sour taste for many’.