Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for outlining the circular issued to all local authorities. The Croí Cónaithe scheme has been invaluable. This has especially been the case in those areas where house prices are that bit lower than they might be elsewhere and additional works cannot be funded with borrowing because of the loan-to-value ratio and the cap the market places on homes in those areas. In areas, though, and I am thinking of parts of my constituency, this scheme enables people to go in and borrow money for their homes, and avail of this additional grant, which is not linked to the value of a property. This allows people to undertake this type of work. It enables work to be done that might otherwise have been only done by other people with higher incomes. This makes endeavours of this type more affordable to a broader range of people.

The problem is, and this is like anything we give to the local authorities, and I agree with things going to them, the local authorities do things differently in every local authority area. Dublin City Council is implementing the Croí Cónaithe scheme with far more rigidity than I would like it to. I would, therefore, welcome if the Minister of State could bring a little bit of standardisation to the 13-month period and an extension beyond that point.

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