Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the scheme's extension. The key measure of its success is whether it results in works being done that would not otherwise have happened. Undoubtedly, that has been the case. To take Deputy Doherty's point, any form of home improvement is welcome because it improves the living environment. Changing doors and windows can help with energy efficiency, for example, and these works generate economic activity. The scheme is positive in that sense.

If he can, I would like the Minister to accommodate Deputy Burton's amendment. The key difference between local authority tenants and private tenants is that council tenants have security of tenure and get a credit for any work they do on their houses if they become purchasers under the tenant purchase scheme. The amendment can be accommodated and formalised in that way. People wait a long time to get improvements funded through the general local authority system. If the amendment can be accepted and the barriers overcome, it would be a positive step.