Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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228. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when a new tenant purchase scheme will be implemented; when the new scheme will purchase affordable sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3767/18]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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246. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the new tenant purchase scheme will be launched; the mortgage approval process for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3868/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 228 and 246 together.

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 financing of any house sold under the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme is a separate matter from the eligibility criteria for the scheme.  If the tenant is deemed eligible under the scheme, he or she may fund the purchase of a house from one, or a combination, of his / her own resources or a mortgage provided by a financial institution or a local authority house purchase loan.

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 took place in 2017 and 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.  I expect to be in a position to publish the outcome of the review shortly.