asked the Minister for Lands whether in view of the increased cost of building materials he will consider increasing the grants given by his Department for housing, and if he will consider making any such increases retrospective so as to give additional assistance to people who have had grants on the existing scale sanctioned for some time past but who have found the amount sanctioned inadequate.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Increase in Housing Grants.
Apart from housing on newly-created holdings on divided estates, Land Commission housing assistance is now in practice confined to the making of loans to supplement the grants which are obtainable under the Housing Acts administered by the Department of Local Government. It is not proposed to increase the scale of these loans, which are related to the security afforded by the holdings on which they are charged. The free grants given by the Department of Local Government have been increased by recent legislation to offset the increased cost of building materials.
Does the Minister mean by his reply that free grants that were given heretofore by the Land Commission to tenants who undertook the building of their own houses are not in operation any longer?
I do not want the Deputy to take that from my reply, but, generally, that the giving of grants to tenants, particularly vested tenants, will not be continued except in very special cases where the tenants concerned had a recommendation before vesting to obtain such grants or loans.
I have in mind cases of people who got grants, say, of £160, £180, or £190 from the Land Commission in days gone by and who, because of the increased cost of building materials, were unable to avail themselves of these grants. I want to know if the Land Commission are prepared to step-up on the same lines as the Department of Local Government and increase the grants to enable these tenants to build the houses. As the Minister knows, a number of them cannot avail of the assistance given because the grant is not sufficient.
I might point out to the Deputy that the grants from the Department of Local Government under the new Act are available to all these people and, in certain cases, we are prepared to assist them with a loan, provided the holding will not be overburdened by the repayment of the loan. I think that should meet the Deputy's case.
I am afraid the Minister does not grasp my point. Grants were made available to people many years ago by the Land Commission and the people are paying interest on them from that day to this. These grants are insufficient to build houses to-day owing to the increased cost of materials. Is the Minister prepared to increase the grants or, otherwise, is he prepared to hand back the interest paid by these people during these years?
Have they utilised the grants?
No.
I know the type of case now which the Deputy is referring to. Each individual case will have to be examined on its merits.
Is the Minister prepared to undertake to increase the grants?
That is the practice.
Will the Minister increase the grants?
I am not giving the Deputy an answer on that.