Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 20: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans, if any, to ensure that the surplus housing stock is utilised to meet the housing needs of the families on the local authority housing list here, having particular regard to the current criteria whereby such applicants with an income of more than €40,000 per annum are deemed ineligible on excessive income grounds for local authority housing but whose income is also deemed insufficient to qualify for loan facilities to purchase a home either through the local authority or the private sector; if he will ensure that no existing houses, whether fully or partially completed, are demolished while such a situation persists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16083/10]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 63: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to put in place a specific capital investment programme to purchase residential property in view of the number of vacant and unsold properties and the continuing fall in property prices in order to meet the demand for social housing and other social housing schemes that would facilitate the incentivisation of the purchase of these properties under the tenant purchase or a restructured affordable home programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15940/10]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 63 together.

It is our intention to meet the accommodation needs of as many households as possible within the resources at our disposal. Oversupply of housing is a key factor in that regard, and there is potential to make economic necessity and the response to social need work in tandem by utilising unsold housing stock to accommodate families in need of social housing support.

This is exactly what is being pursued over the past year through a new approach to the delivery of social housing which involves a shift in focus increasingly towards long term leasing arrangements, with a lesser reliance on construction and acquisition.

Already this approach has yielded over 2,000 units and I expect further significant progress this year with half of the total projected social housing output to come through a combination of leasing and the Rental Accommodation Scheme.

In the context of rising social housing need, the priority must be to maximise delivery of social housing to cater for the greatest level of need at good value. It is not possible to purchase or build anything like the same number of units that can be provided for through more flexible options like the long term leasing initiative and the Rental Accommodation Scheme. Even in the market at present, it would cost the best part of €3 billion to meet the needs of 20,000 households were these units to be purchased or constructed in the traditional manner. That is four times the overall level of resources available for new social housing this year.

In addition, long term leasing offers the most effective and efficient response more generally, taking account of not just the availability of resources, but also market conditions and the need for a broader range of more flexible delivery mechanisms based on the life-cycle approach as set out in the Government's housing policy statement, Delivering Homes: Sustaining Communities.

In terms of supporting access to home ownership for lower income households, the move to availing of long term leasing to provide social housing should not be viewed in isolation. The recently announced Incremental Purchase Scheme will provide the opportunity for a household in a leased property to move to, and purchase, a dwelling provided for that purpose and to avail of the relevant subsidies and discounts. Under the Incremental Purchase Scheme the State will build social housing as normal but will set aside an agreed number of dwellings to be made available for purchase. This is a very attractive scheme and will provide good opportunities for all social tenants, including those currently in leased properties, to become home owners.

My Department is also examining the possible extension of the leasing arrangements to provide both local authorities and tenants with options to purchase the actual unit they are currently occupying. This would involve lease agreements making specific provision for an option to purchase.

Loans for house purchase are provided by local authorities for those who wish to build or purchase their own home but cannot access finance from private institutions, including affordable housing purchasers. The Housing (Local Authority Loan) Regulations 2009 replace the previous regulations, providing for a new loan limit of €220,000 and a maximum income of €75,000 in the case of joint applicants and €50,000 for single applicants. The regulations also provide for the introduction of a formal credit policy to ensure prudence and consistency of approach for all local authority mortgage lending.