Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)

I am glad the Minister went through the faults of the report, so I will not have to list them, and the changes that need to be made. There is a lack of focus in a few RAPID areas and that is addressed in the report. It might help to have a person in each of the various bodies that are dealing with the RAPID co-ordinator assigned to RAPID. It is hard to get things moving at a fast pace, so there should be one person in the council who deals with the RAPID co-ordinator and reverts back to the council staff. Fingal County Council is starting that initiative in a few areas of its business so we should consider the same option for RAPID. There should be one person in the health board, the Garda, the council and so forth in charge of bringing back the message.

In some areas the priorities we and the co-ordinator have for RAPID are not always a top priority for the residents of those areas. Sometimes RAPID is more involved in social capital, for example, providing a community magazine or newspaper, rather than providing for people in the area who do not have central heating, whose houses have damaged windows or where there is a litter problem. The priority does not seem to be getting the area in shape first and then doing the additional, nice things.

Many of the RAPID areas are older council estates and the houses are now worth a great deal of money. People who try to buy their houses are hit with the market price, minus a percentage for the number of years they have been renting the house. They cannot afford to buy them. The council, therefore, is left with hundreds of houses that must be maintained but it cannot afford to maintain them to a high standard. If we relaxed the conditions for certain age groups in the RAPID areas, people could buy their houses. Money raised from the sales could go into the council fund to repair the other houses or to bring the area up to a certain standard.

The people I have in mind are generally older people who want to provide for their future but they do not own an asset. If they try to buy their house, they will be caught by the conditions. Perhaps there is room within RAPID to consider an initiative to help them. It might also help the area by generating money and by giving people more responsibility.

The Minister referred to including the Ballyfermot area when the RAPID boundary was extended. What are the procedures in other towns and counties for the extension of RAPID? In some places there are estates located side by side and only one of them might be in RAPID. The boundaries were well drafted but there are a few areas where they could be moved slightly to make it more effective. Will the Minister explain the procedures for doing that?

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