Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Specifically with regard to the tenant in situscheme, it has been a real success so far. To update the House, approximately 1,800 properties are going through the sales process right now. The targets that were set across local authorities were baseline targets and I have said that to everyone on numerous occasions.

Additional funding will be required. If we can do more than 2,000 this year, which I believe we can, they will be funded. With regard to transboundary issues in particular, such as where a housing assistance payment, HAP, tenant might have been on one local authority list but is living in another, those issues have been resolved. We are therefore seeing a significant amount of work being done by all our local authorities in this space. The returns on that are very significant. We get them on a monthly basis but they are updated on the system weekly. Then we verify them at the end of the month.

I just spoke about the purchase for tenantin situscheme and I will inform the Deputy about the other measures. Regarding the cost rental in situscheme, we have had our first approvals in that space. The Housing Agency are managing those. It relates to when someone is above the social housing limits, who is not a HAP tenant, who cannot afford to buy their property and who is at risk of homelessness. That scheme has been in place since 1 April. We have had a number of enquiries and we have had our first approvals there, which is good. Also with regard to the first home scheme, which helps tenants if they are in a position to buy the property when the landlord is selling, we have had our first approvals in that space too.

I wish to assure Deputy Cian O'Callaghan and all Deputies in the House that there is no ceiling on the purchase for a tenant in situ. We need to have discretion amongst the local authorities to allow them to do their work. However, the returns so far are extremely positive. This now means that for many HAP tenancies that may have been insecure, people now have safe and secure social homes for life. This is the most significant intervention in relation to tenant in situ purchases that has ever been brought forward, and it is working. There were some issues at the start and we will keep that under review. The County and City Management Association, CCMA, will be meeting about this today. I have appointed the former chief executive of Kildare County Council, Peter Carey, who is managing in this space across the local authorities.

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