Less than 25% of applications made under the Local Authority Home Loan in Kerry were recommended to be approved last year.
The figures were provided by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien following a query from Sinn Féin TD Patricia Ryan.
The Local Authority Home Loan is a Government-backed mortgage for first time buyers and fresh start applicants.
It’s been available since January 4th last year.
It can be used to purchase a new or second-hand property or for self-build, and provides up to 90% of the market value of the property; the maximum loan amount is determined by where the property is located.
The Housing Agency provides a central support service that assesses applications on behalf of local authorities and it makes recommendations to approve or refuse applications.
Last year (2022) 78 applications, made to Kerry County Council, were assessed; of these, 19 applications, or 24%, were recommended to be approved.
Nationwide, 2,371 applications have been assessed and 1,010 have been recommended to be approved.