asked the Minister for Local Government if it is his intention to provide a scheme to enable Dublin Corporation house tenants to purchase their houses if they so desire.
59.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Corporation Houses.
58.
asked the Minister for Local Government if he is aware that any proposal to increase the rents of corporation houses in the Dublin area will have the effect of increasing the cost of living of the workers with consequent ill-effects upon the economy; and whether, in the light of this, he will ensure that no move of this nature which may be envisaged by the City Manager will be sanctioned by his Department.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 59 together.
It is a matter for the housing authority in the first instance to formulate a tenant-purchase scheme and I have already informed the corporation that I would be prepared to consider sympathetically a scheme for their houses, based on outline proposals recently submitted to me. Last March, I asked the corporation, in common with other housing authorities, to undertake a comprehensive review of the rent structure of their housing estate with the objectives of ensuring that no family would be denied re-housing because of inability to pay rent, and that rents would be related to the financial circumstances of tenants and the standard of accommodation and amenities provided. A review in accordance with these principles would decrease the rents of some tenants and would increase the rents only of those who could afford extra payment.