Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the response of the Minister of State to amendment No. 18, we must have regard to the fact that the 2009 Act makes provision for voluntary housing association units built after its enactment to be sold. Therefore, it is possible. I take the point made by the Minister of State that we cannot force the voluntary housing associations that own the housing units to sell the units to their tenants. However, at present, if such voluntary housing associations want to sell units to the tenants, they cannot do so because the legislation prohibits them from doing so. All I am asking of the Minister of State is to include a provision in the Bill, as drafted in these amendments, to allow the sale of houses where the voluntary housing association and the local authority are of the opinion that it is beneficial to the tenants and the overall welfare of the local community that the sale take place. The differentiation we make is not that the Minister of State forces voluntary housing associations to sell units but that the Minister of State enacts legislation to allow voluntary associations, where there is agreement with the local authority, to sell units. A predecessor of the Minister of State, Deputy Emmet Stagg, who may have been the first Minister of State with responsibility for housing, promised faithfully to do something about this. The reality is that powerful voluntary housing lobbies have been used to prevent the introduction of such a scheme. Natural justice and the interest of the communities involved should outweigh the desire on the part of any voluntary body to build an empire. Having come off the same lists and having availed of the same taxpayers' money, people should have the same opportunity to purchase.

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