Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

That is correct. I thank the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this important matter. I also thank the Minister of State, Deputy Penrose, for being present to respond.

Tenant purchase of local authority flats has been an issue for more than 30 years. Ultimately, it boils down to a fundamental issue of fairness. Across Ireland, tenants living in local authority flats are being denied the right to buy their homes while neighbours living in local authority houses may avail of this right. In the past 20 years, as property prices and the level of home buying increased exponentially, this group of tenants remained marginalised as a result of being precluded from buying their homes. The right to buy a home is a basic tenet of Irish society.

I hope measurable progress will be made on this issue on which the previous Administration procrastinated. As I speak, Cork City Council and every other council are issuing letters to their respective tenants informing them about a new tenant purchase scheme that is being established. Tenants who have been in situ for 15 years will be able to obtain a 45% discount should they decide to purchase their homes. Tenants of local authority flats, however, a group that has been campaigning on this issue for more than 20 years, will continue to be denied the right to buy their homes. I ask the Government to take a new approach and resolve this issue by affording tenants of local authority flats the right to purchase their homes.

The previous Government, in debates on its Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, indicated it would introduce a statutory framework to allow local authority tenants of flats to purchase their homes under the incremental purchase scheme. While there are some difficulties with this approach, it at least amounted to a step in the right direction. The difficulty is that local authorities have not been facilitated to avail of such a legislative framework. While the House debates this issue, people continue to be denied the right to buy their home.

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