asked the Minister for Local Government if he will make arrangements to continue the payment of a subsidy from Central Government funds on dwellings in respect of which a local authority submits a tenant purchase scheme.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Housing Subsidies.
11.
Housing subsidy is intended to encourage urban housing authorities to rehouse persons displaced from unfit or overcrowded dwellings at rents which they can afford. It is not legally payable in respect of tenant purchase schemes and it is not proposed to seek powers to enable it to be so paid. The terms of such schemes are already financially favourable to the purchasers.
Will the Minister not agree that the continuation of such a subsidy would encourage tenants to purchase their own houses and that refusal to continue the subsidy means that they will lose the desire to purchase houses because they would lose the benefit of the subsidy?
The terms on which these houses are offered are quite favourable as they stand. The continuation of the subsidy was never intended for purchase schemes; it was rather intended for rehousing those displaced. It does not seem to be appropriate to the purchase of houses.
Would the Minister not agree that a family occupying a tenancy dwelling would be desirous of purchasing a house of their own and that they could be encouraged to do so by making the subsidy available? This would be of great assistance to the local authority waiting list. It also makes a contribution towards the existing very serious housing problem.
I do not see how that would arise. Continuation of the subsidy means that much more money is taken out of the general pool which should, in fact, be going towards subsidising further houses for more people.
I take it the Minister is not inclined to encourage people occupying tenancy dwellings to purchase their own houses?
We are already encouraging them to quite a degree.