Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the situation in which many persons who bought their homes from a local authority under the shared ownership scheme are now unable to sell and move on due to the fact that the council share has remained at an artificially high price which would force any seller to take a loss; and his plans to support these persons in moving on to more suitable housing. [24115/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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A person occupying a house under the shared ownership scheme can sell their house at any time provided they have bought out the local authority's share and have acquired full ownership of the dwelling. Full ownership may be achieved either by purchasing, from time to time, additional shares of the authority's equity or a single outright purchase of its remaining equity. The cost of purchasing an additional share or the redemption value of the outstanding share, for transactions commenced from 1 January 2003, is based on its initial cost adjusted annually to compensate for differences between the rent paid on the local authority's share and the interest calculated by reference to the prevailing interest rates. The scheme is structured so that, on redemption, the price of the outstanding share is not determined on the basis of a percentage of current market value, but is, rather, a function primarily of its initial capital cost. While this may impact on those living in shared ownership properties who wish to purchase in the current market, it is also the case that shared ownership purchasers were in the position of having their share of the property rise in value when the market was rising. Many homeowners, regardless of their original source of funding, face similar challenges. The Government's housing policy statement, published on 16 June, announced the standing down of all affordable housing schemes, including the shared ownership scheme, in the context of a full review of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000. It also made clear that diminished resources for social housing provision must be concentrated on those without the means to provide themselves with suitable accomodation.