Dáil debates

Tuesday, 22 October 2024

Ceisteanna Eile (Atógail) - Other Questions (Resumed)

Housing Schemes

9:45 pm

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This scheme is a great idea. The Minister knows I am big supporter of it. The number of applications is satisfactory. It will bring a lot of houses back to life. I noticed the scheme seems to be much more successful in rural areas, which highlights an ongoing physical difficulty of doing up terraced houses. The Minister said 930 applications have been paid out, which is approximately 10%. That seems low. The Minister also said an extension to 13 months is also possible. People are coming to me who are hitting the wall and getting the work done, but have not completed it. Can they get second extensions and so on? Is that absolute discretion with the local authority, or is there a limit to the time given? If they were doing nothing, that would be fair enough, but if progress is being made, it would be a pity not to let the applicants finish. Were there any discussions with the credit unions about providing bridging finance? The local authority home loan is an interesting idea, but credit unions should have been much more proactive in this.

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