Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

We have a responsibility to provide for early assessment. The housing grants schemes were mentioned by a number of Senators. Demand under the adaptation grants scheme has accelerated this year. Annual expenditure on the scheme has increased from €13 million to €71 million over the past ten years. There has been a major increase in activity. Some 74,000 grants have been paid under the scheme since 1997. In other words, 74,000 people, including people with disabilities, have been helped to stay in their homes and communities for as long as possible. It is a sizeable figure. Local authorities are to be complimented on the manner in which they have dealt with the scheme. I have some queries about prioritisation, however.

The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government meets 80% of the cost of the housing adaptation grants scheme, with the local authorities making a 20% contribution. In May of this year, I announced that a combined capital allocation of €71.4 million was being made available to local authorities for the operation of the scheme in private houses in 2008. It is a matter for each local authority to decide on the specific level of funding to be directed towards each scheme from the combined allocation made available to it. Each authority must manage the operation of each scheme in its area from this allocation.

I recognise that in a number of local authority areas, the demand for the housing adaptation grants scheme has outstripped the level of funding available this year. In recognition of the crucial role these grants play in supporting independent living by older people and people with disabilities, the Department has recently allocated an additional round of funding to a number of local authorities which have encountered particularly significant levels of demand. I hope to be in a position to announce a second round of additional allocations to local authorities in the event of further moneys becoming available. In the meantime, it is essential that all local authorities continue to accept and process applications on a prioritised basis in line with existing resources. This is necessary if they are to ensure the needs of the most vulnerable sectors of the community are addressed quickly and effectively. It is important to prioritise.

I wish to respond briefly to Senators' questions about the special housing aid for the elderly scheme. I will update the House on the arrangements for the transfer of responsibility for the scheme from the Health Service Executive to the local authority sector. As Senators are aware, the Government decided in February 2006 that a more integrated service could be achieved if responsibility for the scheme were to be transferred in such a manner. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government already had responsibility for the disabled persons and essential repairs grant schemes. The new housing aid for older people scheme amalgamates the provisions of the essential repairs grant scheme and the special aid for the elderly scheme. It provides assistance to older people who need certain improvements and repairs to be carried out.

In recognition of the fact that the transfer of responsibility for the scheme to local authorities would pose significant challenges to the workloads and resources of the authorities, and to ensure the satisfactory resolution of the outstanding issues, it was agreed that the special housing aid for the elderly scheme would continue to be operated and administered by the HSE until March 2008. There are some outstanding matters regarding staff and completion of works. Consideration of such matters is ongoing. I hope it will be brought to a conclusion in the near future.

I would like to respond to one or two other points that were made. Senator Cummins asked about local democracy in the context of housing plans. He pointed out that the Green Paper, which is being considered at present, is one of the most important aspects of this issue. It is obvious that local authority members have had a say in that. I was at the launch of two of the six regional seminars which were held throughout the country. I agree with Senator O'Malley's comments about the plight of the most vulnerable during the downturn.

This country's 30,000 vacant houses were mentioned by Senators. It has been suggested that local authorities should purchase houses and large areas where vacant houses are located. The Department no longer has a policy of reverting back to large local authority estates. The purchase of large areas for local authority purposes, or for rehousing, is not an option. It would not comply with the Department's thinking on the development of integrated and sustainable communities. It may be the case that some houses could be acquired, but that is a matter for each local authority, such as Dublin City Council.

Not all the houses in question are in locations where houses are wanted. I understand that 10,000 of the houses in question are in Dublin, with a further 20,000 in other parts of the country. They are not all in areas where need exists. When local authorities submit plans to the Department, they must be based on need. There is no point in going ahead with housing developments, on the voluntary side or on the local authority side, unless they are based on need. That is the bottom line, especially now that we cannot be as flathúlach with finances as we were in the past. We will not be able to provide for the increases in housing development which were observed in the past. It is important for all allocations, and all requests made to the Department, to be based on need. We can then respond on the basis of such need.

I was also asked about tenant purchase schemes, which are important. We hope to introduce amendments to this Bill on Committee Stage — perhaps not in this House, but certainly in the Dáil — to provide for the sale of flats to existing tenants. On Committee Stage in the Dáil, we will bring forward proposals for the sale of flats to existing tenants. It is an intricate area and there are legal considerations to be taken into account by the Department, the Attorney General and by outside legal people. However, it is my intention to come forward with a scheme for the sale of flats to tenants during the passage of this Bill through the Oireachtas.

The tenant purchase scheme was also raised. There is a tenant purchase scheme in existence at present. It is based on a 3% discount of the market value of the house for a ten year period, which means 30%. In addition to that, a sum of €3,809 is also deducted. For example, if the market value of a house is €140,000, that tenant can buy the house for €94,200. I do not have any proposals to change the scheme but I will always keep those things under review.

Senator Burke raised the issue of single rural houses. That might not seem important in Dublin or Cork, but it is still an issue with many local authorities where houses have been run down and are not capable of being repaired. In those circumstances, county managers and housing officers still deal in the provision of rural houses. This means that the person and his family are maintained in that rural area and they hold the fabric of that town or village together. There is still a need for that. Some elderly people may wish to move into a village where there are more services, but in rural townlands there is still a need for it.

Our focus has been in establishing a sufficiently robust foundation to allow the sale to proceed, but I have already said that. I am encouraged by the supportive comments here today, and the constructive contribution made on Second Stage, and I look forward to dealing with the Bill on Committee Stage and to interacting with Members of the House on it.