Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I raise an issue which will be familiar to many people who served in local authorities across the country, that is, the shared ownership house purchase scheme. This scheme, which was introduced about 15 years ago, allows potential purchasers of council houses to buy the house in a scheme whereby they take out half a mortgage and pay rent for the other half of the house. In most cases the first half of the mortgage is taken out over 30 years. They pay rent for 30 years and then take out the second half of the mortgage over another 30 years. This means that a person could be paying a mortgage for 60 years, and during that time they remain a tenant of the council. I came across many people in the scheme during my time as a councillor. I have never promoted the scheme or encouraged anybody to partake in it because effectively one is neither fish nor flesh when one is in the scheme.

I call on the Leader to bring this scheme to the attention of the Minister and to ask the Minister to review the scheme with a view to abandoning it as an option for people to buy houses. The duration of the scheme is too long for people to become house owners. It creates difficulties when people pass on to the next world in that if they have made a will, they are neither an owner nor a tenant, tenancy rights are questionable, and the ownership is certainly questionable. The issue of mortgage protection arises also. It is very difficult to get mortgage protection on half a house if someone tried to do it. There is also the issue of people who are locked into this scheme and paying extremely high interest rates because the scheme was introduced about 15 years ago. They are in very difficult circumstances. I ask the Leader to speak to the Minister with responsibility for housing with a view to reviewing the full scheme, winding it up and entering into negotiations with the poor misfortunates around the country who were foolish enough, and encouraged in some quarters, to enter into this scheme, to give them an option to leave the scheme on a favourable rate to them.