John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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480. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason persons (details supplied) are not allowed to purchase their home from the county council when they have the funds to do so, separate from their sole income of social welfare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41647/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase 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 a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support for at least one year.

The minimum reckonable income for eligibility under the scheme 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 the 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, including pensions, where the social welfare payment is secondary to employment income.

In order to ensure the sustainability of the scheme, it is essential that an applicant's income is of a long-term and sustainable nature. This is necessary 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 the ownership of, and responsibility for, the house from the local authority to the tenant.

Decisions on the qualification of specific persons for social housing schemes such as the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme 2016 are a matter solely for the housing authority concerned. Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 specifically provides that the Minister's power to issue policy directions and guidelines to housing authorities in relation to housing functions is not to be construed as enabling him or her to exercise any power or control in relation to any individual case with which a housing authority is or may be concerned.

In line with the commitment given in Rebuilding Ireland- Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, a review of the first 12 months of the scheme's operation is currently being undertaken by my Department. Details of how to participate in the public consultation process which will inform this review can be found at the link below: .