Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I acknowledge again that this is another mechanism to allow people move onto the housing ladder from whatever accommodation they are in. It is a genuine attempt by the Minister of State to make another provision in legislation to allow such people to have a house of their own.

I ask for one clarification from the Minister of State. Views differ among local authorities. Where a local authority tenant dies and other family members are living in the house, there is an issue of succession to the tenancy of that house. Some local authorities are of the view that the house keys must be handed over and the house handed back within a month. The policy is that because the family members were not part of the formal rental agreement, it now becomes available to the wider housing list. There is a social issue to be considered as some family members may have lived in that house for 20 or 30 years and surely they should have some succession entitlement to continue the rental of that house. This point is not specifically related to incremental purchase but it relates to local authority housing. The Minister of State may direct me in this matter. There is a concern about the situation regarding the family of an elderly person who have lived in a house for many years. I await the Minister of State's views on this matter.