John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 448: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will carry out a complete review of the incremental purchase scheme and amend the proposal that the scheme will only apply to new houses only in order to allow existing tenants both rural and urban purchase their own homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37640/10]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I do not propose to undertake a review of the incremental purchase scheme at this time.

Existing social housing tenants are afforded the opportunity to purchase the homes in which they currently reside, under the tenant purchase scheme. This scheme, in its current form, has been in place since 1995.

Notwithstanding this, when I introduced the Incremental Purchase Scheme on 14 June 2010, I indicated my intention to bring forward legislation in 2011 to underpin a similar scheme for the sale of existing local authority houses to tenants. This scheme will replace the current tenant purchase scheme in due course.

To ensure an orderly wind-down of the existing scheme, my Department has requested housing authorities to inform all existing tenants of houses as soon as possible (and new tenants on allocation of a house) of the decision to end the scheme so that they have sufficient time to apply to purchase their home under the existing scheme if they so wish.