Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We knew the schemes were not working. We should not throw more good money after bad because the schemes have not worked. One of the examples is the repair and leasing scheme where a person could get €40,000 from the local authority to do up a property which would then be leased to the local authority for ten years. It did not work. It is not necessary to be a genius to know why it did not work. First, there was not enough money. If it was going to cost €150,000 to do up a property, nobody would be willing to accept €40,000 and then lose control of it for ten years. It was a poorly thought out scheme. It might have been fair enough if it only needed a bit of painting of decorating. However, for that amount, it was never going to work. It is not necessary to have someone do an assessment as to why it did not work.

We need money put into the schemes that require money. We need proper grant schemes to allow people to do up those old buildings and make them available for rent without restrictive conditions. Much of the time it is not the people on the local authority housing lists who want to rent houses in towns, but the people who are working and cannot get on the local authority housing lists. The problem is with the people trapped in the middle. Many people are not on the local authority housing lists because they earn slightly above the limit, but, at the same time, they cannot afford to rent. It is the Minister's responsibility to make available places they can rent.

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