Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 203: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the gross and net cost to the Exchequer of the shared ownership scheme in each of the past ten years. [10748/09]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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Under the shared ownership scheme, houses are acquired by a local authority by means of borrowing through the Housing Finance Agency and leased to the shared owner, who purchases at least 40% of the value of the house and rents the remaining equity from the local authority. The rent payments that shared ownership purchasers make are intended largely to meet the cost of financing the rented share in the equity of the house.

Exchequer cost in respect of the shared ownership scheme is confined to the payment of rental subsidy to local authorities to reduce the monthly outgoings of purchasers with household income below €28,000 in the previous tax year. The table following sets out the amount of rental subsidy paid to local authorities from 1999 to 2008: