Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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196. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to have carer's allowance included as reckonable income to qualify under the tenant purchase scheme. [38543/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Provision was made in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 for a new incremental tenant purchase scheme for existing local authority houses. Following the necessary preparatory work the new Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having been in receipt of social housing support for a minimum period of one year and having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum. The minimum reckonable income is determined by the relevant housing authority in accordance with the detailed provisions of the Ministerial Direction issued under Sections 24(3) and (4) of the 2014 Act. In its determination of the minimum reckonable income housing authorities can include income from a number of different sources and classes such as from employment, private pensions, maintenance payments and certain social welfare payments, additional to employment income.

It is essential that the income of an applicant under the scheme is of a long-term and sustainable nature, to ensure that the tenant purchasing the house is in a financial position, as the owner, to maintain and insure the property for the duration of the charged period, in compliance with the conditions of the order transferring ownership of and responsibility for the house from the local authority to the tenant.

Consequently, a number of social welfare payments, including Carer’s Allowance, are disregarded for the purposes of determining the reckonable income. A list of these payments can be viewed on my Department’s website at the following link:

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In line with the commitment given in the Programme for a Partnership Government, and reaffirmed in Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, I intend to undertake a review of the scheme following the first 12 months of operation and to bring forward any changes to the terms and conditions of the scheme which are considered necessary based on the evidence gathered at that stage. I expect this review to be completed during the first quarter of 2017.