Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I hear the Deputy's point on this matter. My view is that it is a priority. As he stated, we have good policies in this area in terms of how we develop our town centres, but the way this needs to be implemented will vary in different towns and from local authority to local authority. For example, if we have homes that are in an exceptional state of disrepair, the family that he is referring to may need more support than they would for a home that had not been lived in for a while and might need less work. That is the kind of issue that is better dealt with by grants from our local authorities than through varying the help to buy scheme. If this is the priority that many local authorities assert it is, there are clear opportunities in the rural regeneration fund and the ample funds that are being made available for town centres for some of that money to be reprioritised or diverted local authority by local authority to deal with it. For example, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, has made more money available to deliver hubs in various towns and villages across the country to take advantage of the roll-out of broadband. Perhaps local government should accompany that by using a small amount of its money to assist in the rejuvenation of homes near those hubs in a way that is well designed for each local authority area. That is how it should be done. It would avoid any inflationary or price pressure risk that could come were we to change the help to buy scheme.