Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1812: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the crisis faced by those people who purchased their homes in local authority housing estates who now find that they cannot continue to live in their homes due to an unprecedented and rapid deterioration in the condition of the estate; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that such homeowners, including the elderly in particular, are being forced to leave due to high levels of crime, intimidation, stress and drug dealing and are left with houses that are now virtually worthless and cannot be sold; if his attention has further been drawn to the extent of this problem in four estates (details supplied) in Limerick; and if, in view of the fact that these people bought their homes from the local authority in good faith, he will consider establishing a specific scheme to buy back such houses in estates which have become uninhabitable in part due to failures of both local and central Government. [1098/07]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I have no proposals to introduce a scheme requiring local authorities to purchase privately owned houses which were purchased under the discounted terms of the tenant purchase scheme or otherwise. The issue of the purchase of a private house, including one which had previously been in the ownership of a local authority, and which the local authority may intend to add to their housing stock, is entirely a matter for the individual local authority concerned.

Local authorities have extensive powers under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 to deal with the problem of anti social behaviour. In fulfilment of commitments in the Housing Policy statement — Building Sustainable Communities, I am reviewing the provisions of this Act with a view to strengthening their powers and I hope to bring forward legislative proposals in this regard as soon as possible this year.

Primary responsibility for dealing with law and order issues rests with the Garda Síochána and in this regard, the powers of the Gardaí in dealing with anti social behaviour were enhanced under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. The Garda Síochána Act 2005 further supports these efforts and provides for the establishment of joint policing committees — representative of local authorities, the Gardaí, other public bodies and community interests — whose statutory function includes reviewing the level and patterns of anti-social behaviour and advising on measures to tackle such behaviour.

In relation to the estates in Limerick, the Government towards the end of 2006 appointed Mr. John Fitzgerald, former Dublin City Manager, to lead an initiative to address social exclusion, crime and disorder issues in Moyross. Mr. Fitzgerald has been asked to work with existing agencies and community groups to identify immediate actions that can be implemented in Moyross; in particular seeking to overcome any blockages that might currently exist to delivering local solutions. He has also been asked to bring forward suggestions about the regeneration of Moyross and other disadvantaged areas of Limerick including Southill in the context of the wider strategic development of the Limerick/Shannon Gateway.