Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It appears to be the same central way of deciding whether a person can afford to pay back the loan. It seems particularly strict and restrictive. That wider context needs to be examined because local authority loans should be an opportunity for those on relatively low or middle incomes to purchase a house, be it a former local authority house or a private one.

People have said that 73, the number of people who have applied under the current tenant purchase scheme, is a small number. It is not a particularly small number, however, considering the scheme only began in January. I assume that the numbers will increase. There are other issues, including whether people on long-term social welfare incomes should have that income included. There is a case for that because, if it is a long-term payment then, generally speaking, it stays with the person for life. A number of things need to be examined with regard to this Bill. Overall, I would prefer to see more discretion and responsibility at local authority level, rather than centrally. The situation can be different in various areas. For example, in my own constituency, where we have had a significant regeneration programme, the council has purchased quite a number of houses in private estates, not under Part V but directly. The same issue would arise there as to whether the people living there are allowed to purchase and how much it would affect the social mix in those estates.

While there are a number of wider issues, overall it is important to have this debate given the importance of having a much better supply of local authority houses than we currently have. I support what Fianna Fáil is seeking to achieve, but there is an argument for giving it a bit of time. We will certainly need to review the overall scheme in the context of the amount of local authority housing stock that we have.

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