Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 1439: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if a former local authority tenant who owns a house cannot partake in a scheme that would allow them to cash in on the equity in order to help finance their retirement or illness due to the local authority restrictions on the sale of a house; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40231/05]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The first resale of houses sold under the tenant purchase scheme requires the consent of the local authority. This condition, which applies for a period of 20 years from the original date of the tenant purchase, requires a housing authority to satisfy itself that a person purchasing the house is in need of housing. The condition would also preclude the first resale of a tenant purchase house to a company operating equity release schemes. It would however remain possible for the owner of a tenant purchase house to take out a mortgage secured against the property. This issue will be considered further in the context of the proposed new tenant purchase scheme for local authority tenants announced as part of the new housing policy framework published in December 2005.