Éamon Ó Cuív criticises Tenant Incremental Purchase Scheme 2016

Minister, the question I have relates to the Tenant Incremental Purchase Scheme 2016, and I have to say this is the most unsuccessful Tenant Purchase Scheme ever, and I think you will probably agree with me. Can you let me know when you are going to bring in radical changes to the scheme that are urgently needed? Mr Bourke. Thank you, Count Corle, and I thank Deputy O'Quiib for the question, and I also propose to take parliamentary questions 34 and 67 together with Deputy Tully. The Programme for Government commits to maintaining the right of social housing tenants to purchase their own home with some changes to eligibility. The current Tenant Incremental Purchase Scheme 2016 is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for the 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 income level was introduced in order to ensure the sustainability of the scheme. Applicants must demonstrate that they have an income that is long-term and sustainable in nature to ensure that the tenant purchasing the house is in a financial position as the owner to maintain and ensure the property for the duration of the charged period. A review of the operation for the first 12 months of the scheme has been prepared. The review and the commitments in the Programme for Government are being examined and all of these issues raised, including the position regarding pensioners wishing to purchase under the scheme, are being considered. My Department is preparing a submission on this and other social housing reform matters, and we expect we will be in a position to make decisions and changes to the scheme in early course. The Deputy will be aware, under the Programme for Government, that a number of issues were raised and that is the guide rails that, as Minister, we have to go by. Under the Programme for Government, there is a requirement, as already is in the Act, that local authorities have first called on the purchase, that the discount rate be revised and, secondly, that the applicant has resided in a home for over a year, that that be increased. Deputy O'Creeve, I would like to thank you for your reply. Could you tell me, when was the review completed? The second thing is, you have said that you hope to bring proposals forward soon. I have been hearing that for three or four years, and I mean all this respect to the present Government, but you know, soon is the most misused word in this House, or one of them, could you tell me is soon before Christmas, before Easter, or before this time next year? The third question, can you tell me, how is it thought by the Department that somebody who could go in, a pensioner, who could go in and buy the house down for cash, on the table, straight down, would not be in a position to pay the insurance and the maintenance of the house subsequently? And there are people like that, particularly in rural areas, who are living in council houses built on their own land, who could go in and buy them now because they have worked hard during their life, and still they can't buy it because of the rules. Can you explain what is the logic to believe that somebody who could buy the house for cash wouldn't be able to maintain an insurer? Thank you very much, Count Corleone, and I thank each of the deputies for their questions. First of all, obviously, in line with the Programme for Government, the review which had been commenced has to be, obviously, refined because of the agreement that was made with the three issues that I alluded to through the Programme for Government. Secondly, I think we have to be very careful, you know, as deputies, when we're talking about cash buyers coming in to buy local authority housing, we have to be very careful in the rules we set. The rules we set have a knock-on effect for every applicant throughout the country. And while there are very merited cases and very genuine cases, we have to be very careful in terms of the rules we apply to ensure that they're fair, that they're fair in terms of the local authority stock that we have, and also that they're giving pensioners a chance who have the money, have the resources and the certainty that they can purchase their own home. So I think we just can't have this bland thing that if someone has cash, they can go and buy a local authority house. And I think, you know, people should know the reasons for that. Thank you. The Prime Minister Prime Minister First of all, you didn't tell me when the review was completed. Now, there was a review completed. It might have been reviewed now, but it was completed. You didn't give me the definition of the magic word in the English language, soon. And I'd like a definition of what you called soon, because I've been hearing soon for three years. And I don't know if it rhymes with Zoom, but we need to get Zoom into this soon. Can you just also answer a question in relation to the fact that you seem to imply that I or anybody else would think that anybody other than the tenant or the joint tenant could buy the house? Are you saying that there should be restrictions on joint tenants or tenants who can buy their houses on the ability to buy it? Nobody is proposing to widen the eligibility in terms of who can buy the house, not anybody, and certainly not me. And the other question I have, I often find, can you explain why the Department believes there is an unaffordability to maintain and insure the house, while in many cases for people who have got part-time jobs, the amount of the repayment would be less than the rent. Thank you very much. Have you got your Collins English dictionary there with you? Thank you. I have indeed, Count Corley, ready and present. Just to be very clear, the review had been completed and obviously it has to be revised to take into account what was agreed by the three parties unanimously adopted by their membership. They have to review that and take account of that and it will be shortly. I can't put an exact specified time on it because I don't know and that's the honest answer because we are obviously doing the budget at the moment which is is going to take priority but as soon as possible and you know the one thing politicians are mad for is people to put an exact date on things and you know things can happen beyond your control especially in this department. We have a lot to respond back to every day and we have a very significant budget underway that we're trying to negotiate and just in terms of I'm not proposing to change the terms of the scheme for to preclude any tenants or joint tenants from doing it. I'm just saying we have to be very careful in terms of the rules that we have and obviously that any income thresholds that are set that they are sustainable because no one wants to put people into an insustainable position where they can service the repayments. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.