Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Lynch asked about the options at the end of a lease period of ten or 20 years. There are a number of options for the local authorities to meet their social housing needs and these include renewing the lease, the purchase of the unit if the option to purchase clause has been included in the lease agreement, or if the owner is willing, or there is the other option of taking the house into the social housing stock, providing the householder has alternatives suitable to the needs of supporting households to purchase another dwelling under the incremental purchase scheme. The Deputy will be aware I introduced the incremental purchase scheme and I signed the ministerial order only last week and it is available now for people to buy houses from the social housing stock.

I have included the option of purchase with regard to private houses. Under the affordable scheme there is an option to buy and after five years they will revert back and it may be a different market. I am leaving the door open for people who wish to purchase a home for themselves, both in the private leasing and in the affordable sector.

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