John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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242. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the review of the tenant (incremental) purchase scheme 2016 is now complete; his plans to introduce changes to the scheme; if he will review the minimum reckonable income of persons and allow long standing tenants to purchase their homes whether on social welfare or not but with proof of savings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39971/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The new Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme for existing local authority houses 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, have been in receipt of social housing support for at least one year and have been allocated a house under a local authority allocation scheme.

In line with the commitment given in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, a review of the first 12 months of the Tenant Purchase scheme’s operation has been undertaken. The review has incorporated analysis of comprehensive data received from local authorities regarding the operation of the scheme during 2016 and a wide-ranging public consultation process which saw submissions received from individuals, elected representatives and organisations.

The review is now complete and a full report setting out findings and recommendations has been prepared.  Following consultation with relevant Departments on implementation arrangements, I expect that definitive proposals will be submitted to me very shortly.