Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. It is an important issue, which has been raised at council meetings around the country and by colleagues of the Senator in this House.

The new tenant incremental purchase scheme for existing local authority houses came into operation on 1 January 2016. The scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support for at least one year. The terms of the scheme involve discounts of 40%, 50% or 60% off the purchase price of the house, linked to tenant income. On the sale of a house under the scheme, the local authority will place an incremental purchase charge on the house equivalent to the discount granted to the tenant. Generally, the charge withers away over a period of 20, 25 or 30 years, depending on the discount involved.

The provisions of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, are designed to enable the development of mixed-tenure sustainable communities. Part V units are excluded from the tenant incremental purchase scheme 2016 to ensure that units delivered under this mechanism will remain available for people in need of social housing support and that the original policy goals of the legislation are not eroded over time. The continued development of mixed-tenure communities remains very important in promoting social integration. There is a concern that if people were able to buy out all the Part V houses, they would not be used again for social housing, which would defeat the purpose of what we are trying to achieve with the Part V mechanism, which is social integration. Having said that, we are conscious that there are many people, with probably hundreds in counties Cavan and Monaghan as well as in my own county of Meath, who would like the option of buying a house and who did not realise the option would not be there. Following consultation with colleagues of the Senator and others around the country, we committed to examine the issue to see if we could find a solution but our desire is to continue with mixed communities and the social integration that goes with that. We do not have a magic solution but we are looking at it because this issue causes concern for people. Not everybody would avail of the option but they would like to have it.

Local authorities may also, within the provisions of the regulations, exclude certain houses which, in the opinion of the authority, should not be sold for reasons such as proper stock or estate management, such as in the case of houses for elderly people, in particular bungalows. It is a matter for each individual local authority to administer the scheme in its operational area in line with the overarching provisions of the governing legislation for the scheme, and in a manner appropriate to its housing requirements.

In line with the commitment given in Rebuilding Ireland, a review of the first 12 months of the scheme’s operation, including the issue raised by the Senator, has been undertaken. The review has incorporated analysis of comprehensive data received from local authorities regarding the operation of the scheme during 2016 and a wide-ranging public consultation process, with submissions received from individuals, elected representatives and organisations. The review is complete and a full report has been prepared, setting out findings and recommendations. I hope to publish the review shortly, following consideration of a number of implementation issues arising.

Clearly, the tenant purchase scheme offers tenants the option to purchase their homes, something the Government and I are supportive of as we acknowledge that people want to own their own home, if possible. It is critical, however that we balance this against the need to maintain our stock and add to our social housing stock over the coming years. We are committed to increasing the number by a minimum of 50,000 houses by 2021 under Rebuilding Ireland and we want to continue that. Any house sold through the tenant purchase scheme needs to be replaced, with the money ring-fenced and put back into housing.