Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 80: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to introduce a fair loan scheme to enable local authority tenants to purchase their own homes under the terms and conditions of the new tenant purchase scheme introduced in the most recent budget. [8114/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The most recent tenant purchase scheme, provided for in the context of the 2011 budget, operates under the credit policy guidelines for local authority housing lending. These were made under the Housing (Local Authority Loans) Regulations 2009.

Under this protocol, all applicants are assessed according to the same criteria, and their applications subjected to the same scrutiny. It is desirable to make adequate lending provision available to local authority tenants who wish to avail of the tenant purchase schemes, while also adhering to prudent lending practices.

I believe that the current regime is a fair scheme that adequately meets the needs of prospective borrowers, and facilitates participation in housing acquisition initiatives such as the tenant purchase scheme.