James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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391. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to amend Part V rules to allow a tenant in situ to purchase their local authority property; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22414/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme.

The scheme is governed by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 and the Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015, as amended. The regulations provide for specified classes of houses to be excluded from sale, including those provided to local authorities under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

The Part V provisions seek to promote social integration and secure mixed tenure, sustainable communities. Accordingly, Part V properties are excluded from the scheme to ensure the original policy goals of the legislation are not eroded over time and the properties remain available for people most in need of social housing support.

While there are no plans to amend this requirement at this time, potential changes to the scheme are currently being examined as part of my Department’s work on the broader social housing reform agenda.