Minister confirms review of home loan scheme as Kildare house prices exceed borrowing limits

Irish Examiner

a day ago

Housing minister James Browne has confirmed a review has taken place into a council-led loan scheme after affordable houses in Kildare were found to be above the borrowing threshold.
The review comes after reports of affordable homes in Kildare being ineligible for the Local Authority Home Loan scheme, as the cost of the houses is above the threshold at which people can borrow.
'I have asked for a review to be carried out around the home loan scheme to make sure it matches across the country in terms of those limits,' Mr Browne said.
'Those proposals are with me now, they actually already arrived yesterday. I'll be making a decision on those very rapidly.' The eight affordable homes in question, at Lattin Place in Naas, first went on sale earlier this week.
Three types of houses are available, with a two-bed mid-terrace starting at €295,000, a three-bed mid-terrace starting at €365,000, and a three-bed end-terrace starting at €370,000.
However, in Kildare, the maximum property value to allow someone to access the Local Authority Home Loan is €360,000.
Mr Browne said he wanted to see the limits increased 'where they need to be increased' to remove any disparity around the Local Authority Home Loan scheme.
Housing minister James Browne has confirmed a review has taken place into a council-led loan scheme. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
He admitted that the scheme was not aligned in Kildare, but he was not aware of any other specific situations where the threshold did not align with the cost of an affordable home.
'I want to try and get them aligned so that we don't have this type of disparity because I know it causes stress for families… I don't want that situation happening,' Mr Browne said, following reports in the Irish Times.
'The Government is spending record funding on delivering housing, on supporting people to get those homes. So that misalignment, I certaintly want to see an end and intend to bring an end to that.'
Meanwhile, Mr Browne has said the secretary-general at the department of housing, Graham Doyle, is 'fully supportive' of the creation of the Housing Activation Office.
It followed comments from Mr Doyle on Thursday, where he said there was no need for a 'housing tsar'. The term has become widely associated with whoever is due to lead the new Housing Activation Office.
However, Mr Browne said Mr Doyle had only gotten into a 'semantics debate' about the description of the job and 'what it should be called'.
'He's fully supportive of it. I've spoken with him since and his support is very much there,' Mr Browne said.
'It is the Government that makes the decisions and the Government will be driving on with really key decisions. The Housing Activation Office is one of those.'
Read More
Taoiseach and President warn Ireland is target of Israeli propaganda over Gaza stance