Protocol for the Provision of Information to Members of the Oireachtas by State Bodies under the aegis of Government Departments/Offices

Date

Oireachtas Member

Summary of Questions and Answers

Responded to within deadline

28 April 2025

James Geoghegan T.D.

Question

1. Identify any projects which the Department has underway with CeADAR, Ireland’s national centre for AI

2. Identify specific examples where artificial intelligence has been adapted for the operation of his Department and each body under the aegis of his Department.

3. Confirm that for each year between 2020 and 2025 in respect of the boards of bodies under the aegis of his Department, at least one member of the audit and risk committee of that board has recent, relevant financial experience for each of those years; where that is not the case, to identify that body, by reference to the year or years where no so such member existed.

4. The number of members of boards in each body under the aegis of his Department who have a professional accounting qualification, for each of the years 2020 to 2025, in tabular form.

5. Identify, by body name and associated skills gap, any skills gaps identified by the chairperson of that board in correspondence to his Department or a Minister in respect of the composition of the board of the body referred, for each year between 2020 and 2025, in tabular form; to identify any body where the chairperson of that board never identified skills gaps to his Department or a Minister, by year and body.

Answer

1. The Housing Finance Agency does not have any projects underway with CeADAR.

2. The Housing Finance Agency has not integrated AI into the existing systems of our organisation. However, as part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and service improvement, we intend exploring practical applications of AI for the future. This exploration forms part of the HFA’s broader technology roadmap, which aims to assess and adopt emerging technologies where they can add value and enhance efficiency and security. Should new AI solutions be adopted, these developments will be managed in line with relevant government policies and governance frameworks.

3. The HFA agency confirmed that for each years between 2020 and 2025 at least one member of the Audit and Risk Committee had recent, relevant financial expertise.

4. 2020 – 3
2021 – 2
2022 – 5
2023 – 5
2024 – 3
2025 – 5

5. While there is no formal correspondence on the matter, the Chair has confirmed that when vacancies arose in 2022, a verbal request for the appointment of a director with lending experience was made. It should also be noted that the HFA included specialists skills in a recent candidate booklet for a director who is expected to the chair the Audit & Risk Committee once appointed.

Yes

11 July 2025

Grace Boland T.D.

Question

A constituent has been in contact with me seeking an update as to why his interest rate hasn’t been reduced despite the ECB cutting the rate 8 times.

I have been in contact with Fingal County Council in relation to this who have advised the HFA have the authority to make amendments to variable interest rates and only when directed can Local Authorities pass on changes in interest rates to mortgage owners.

I understand from Fingal County Council that the last variable interest rate change was effected from 1st October 2023.

While I understand that the changes in interest rates do not have to pass onto home owners, any insights that you could provide as to why these changes are not passed onto residents would be greatly appreciated.

Answer

In order to support its lending activities, the HFA raises long-term fixed-rate funding from the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB).

The HFA determines the rates charged to its customers (Local Authorities, Approved Housing Bodies and Higher Education Institutions) based on the cost of this funding, which is not linked to rates set by the European Central Bank but rather by long-term government bond yields.

The HFA does not operate the Local Authority Home Loan scheme. The HFA provides fixed-rate financing to Local Authorities, who then issue and manage home loans to their customers for the full duration of the loan. As such, any queries regarding interest rates or loan terms should be directed to the relevant Local Authority.

Yes

3 August 2025

Grace Boland T.D.

Question

1. Are all external legal fees incurred by your agency charged at a negotiated discount rate and how are these fees monitored for compliance.

2. Does your agency conduct regular benchmarking, or market testing, to ensure that the rates paid for legal services, solicitors and barristers, represents value for money for the taxpayer.

3. What is the procurement processes used when engaging external legal firms and barristers, are panels used, how often are these refreshed; what criteria is used for selection and performance review.

4. Has your agency conducted any audits or reviews in the past five years on legal fee spend – can the findings or summaries of those reviews be shared?

5. What internal oversight exists within your agency to monitor the scope, duration and cost escalation of legal services once engaged.

6. Does your agency make use of capped fee arrangements, fixed-fee briefs, success-based fee models or other such arrangements in its legal engagements; if not why are such options not considered

Answer

1. The Housing Finance Agency’s current legal services contract was awarded following a competitive procurement process under the Office of Government Procurement Multi-Supplier Framework Agreement for the Provision of Legal Services to Public Sector Bodies. All legal fees incurred under this contract are subject to the agreed terms and rates set out in the framework. The HFA has internal procedures in place to ensure that invoices received from the contracted legal firm are reviewed and verified for compliance with the contract terms.

2. The HFA’s current contract for legal services was signed in January 2024 and remains in place until January 2027. This contract was awarded following a competitive procurement process conducted under an OGP framework. As part of this process, rates were benchmarked to ensure value for money. The framework itself is designed to support public sector bodies in accessing legal services at competitive and pre-negotiated rates, which helps ensure consistency and cost-effectiveness across government agencies.

3. The HFA engages external legal firms through the OGP multi-supplier framework, which is established through a competitive procurement process and refreshed periodically by the OGP. When selecting legal service providers for the current contract, the HFA assessed:

 the specific expertise required to support the organisation’s core function – lending to Local Authorities, Approved Housing Bodies and Higher Education Institutions;  the providers’ broader legal experience to meet general advisory needs; and  the proposed contract costs, within rates agreed under the framework to ensure value for money.

4. All administration expenditure, including legal fees, is subject to review as part of the HFA’s internal management accounting and budgeting control processes. Our financial accounts are published annually in our HFA Annual Reports - the HFA 2024 Annual Report is available here: HFA Annual Report

5. Most of the HFA’s legal costs arise from lending activities and are linked to specific housing schemes. The HFA Lending Team first checks these costs by reviewing all related invoices to ensure they are accurate and appropriate. After that, the invoices go through the HFA’s standard internal review and approval steps before payment is made.

6. The HFA engages legal service providers under a contract awarded through the OGP multi-supplier framework. The framework sets out agreed rates and terms, which the HFA contract adheres to. These rates and terms are designed to ensure value for money and consistency across public sector legal services.

Yes

8 August 2025

Conor Sheehan T.D.

Question

I am writing to you to request information on the amount spent by your organisation on travel and subsistence in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 to date.

Answer

2021: €2,508.00
2022: €4,509.00
2023: €7,349.00
2024: €6,020.00
2024: €3,609.00

Yes

13 August 2025

Naoise Ó Muirí T.D.

Question

A number of constituents with long standing variable interest mortgages have been in touch.

The last reduction in their repayments was October 2023, before the multiple ECB interest rate cuts that have occurred since.

I am aware that by the law the interest rate charged cannot be below the cost of finance from the Housing Finance Agency.

Is there any indication that the cost of finance for the HFA may change in the coming months?

Answer

The HFA provides fixed-rate financing to Local Authorities, who in turn issue and manage home loans to their customers for the full duration of the loan. As such, the HFA does not set or amend the interest rates offered to individual mortgage holders under this scheme. Any changes to those rates are a matter for the relevant Local Authority, in line with Departmental guidance.

In relation to the HFA’s own lending activities, our approach to setting interest rates is not directly linked to ECB rates. Instead, it depends on the contractual arrangements with each customer.

In summary, while the HFA provides funding to Local Authorities, it does not determine the interest rates applied to Local Authority Home Loans. These are set and managed by the Local Authorities themselves and any queries regarding changes to those rates should be directed to the relevant Local Authority.

Yes

10 September 2025

Cian O’Callaghan T.D.

Question

I have a constituent who is current on a variable local authority home loan. They remain on a variable rate of 4% and while they have seen this rate escalate when ECB rates went up over the last couple of years, they have not seen any reductions in local authority variable rates over 2025, when the ECB rates have decreased approximately eight times. This has created situation where the constituent feels that their ‘variable’ rate seems to only have an upward direction.

As such, I would appreciate if you could let me know how the HFA direct lending rates?

Answer

The HFA provides fixed-rate and variable rate financing to Local Authorities, who in turn issue and manage home loans to their customers for the full duration of the loan. As such, the HFA does not set or amend the interest rates offered to individual mortgage holders under this scheme. Any changes to those rates are a matter for the relevant Local Authority, in line with Departmental guidance.

In relation to the HFA’s own lending activities, our approach to setting interest rates is not directly linked to ECB rates. Instead, it depends on the contractual arrangements with each customer.

In addition, the HFA has not changed any of its interest rates since October 2023, despite significant market volatility during this period.

In summary, while the HFA provides funding to Local Authorities, it does not determine the interest rates applied to Local Authority Home Loans. These are set and managed by the Local Authorities themselves and any queries regarding changes to those rates should be directed to the relevant Local Authority.

18 September 2025

John Clendennen T.D.

Question

I was hoping for some information or guidance on behalf of our constituents Tullamore Housing Association CLG.

Could you tell me if there are any available grants or funding that could be provided for the attached situation described by Mr Buckley in his letter?

Does the Capital Assistance Scheme cover the refurbishment of these units?

Answer

We understand that your constituent is seeking grant funding, rather than a loan. The HFA does not administer grant funding, including the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS).

We recommend reaching out to the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage directly, who will be able to advise on grant funding options or alternative supports available for the proposed works.

Also, we suggest that the Irish Council for Social Housing, who provide guidance and support to AHBs on funding options and processes, may also be a useful point of contact.

Yes