State home building loans available by year end

State loans to tackle the lack of new house building will not be rolled out until the end of this year despite being announced last October.

Funding of up to €750m will be made available to builders seeking to construct developments of more than 10 homes but who cannot get loans from the banks.

It is hoped that around 6,000 homes will be built in the coming years under the Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) scheme, first announced as part of the Budget.