Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 303: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the schemes in place for council tenants to buy out the property they live in; the number of council tenants in each of the Dublin local authority areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10674/07]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Under the existing Tenant Purchase Scheme, which has been in operation since 1995, local authority tenants can apply to purchase their dwelling provided they have been a tenant of the local authority for a continuous period of one year. Certain dwelling types, including apartments, are excluded from sale under the current sales scheme.

To assist local authority tenants in purchasing their homes, a discount of 3% of the value of the house is allowed for each year of tenancy up to a maximum of 30%. In addition to this, a further discount of €3,809 is provided.

A shared ownership option is available for tenants who cannot afford to purchase in one step. Under this option a share of the equity is purchased with a mortgage, usually 50%, and the remainder is rented from the local authority at a rent of 4.3% per annum. The tenant purchaser can buy out the remaining equity within 25 years. It is open to tenants to part purchase shares in the local authority equity over time.

All aspects of the tenant purchase scheme are currently under review in accordance with the Government's commitment in the recently published Statement on Housing Policy — Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities. The Government have approved the drafting of the Social Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2006, which provides, inter alia, for the sale of local authority apartments to tenants under certain conditions. The drafting of the Bill is being advanced as quickly as possible and it is expected that it will be published by early summer this year.

The most recent figures available to my Department indicate that on 31 December 2006 there were 39,862 tenants of the four Dublin local authorities. Of this figure 24,130 were tenants of Dublin City Council, 7,983 of South Dublin County Council, 3,914 of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and 3,835 of Fingal County Council.