asked the Minister for Justice if he will give Garda Síochána tenants of State-owned houses the option to purchase the houses.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Garda Síochána Tenants.
2.
This is a complex matter which has been the subject of informal discussions between the Garda authorities, my Department, the Office of Public Works and the Garda Representative Bodies.
There are, broadly speaking, two conflicting considerations. The first is that these houses are provided by the State because of the difficulty which members of the force could otherwise be faced with in finding accommodation when transferred from one station to another and, if members in occupation were able to purchase them, the houses would sooner or later cease to be available for transferred members, which means that they would cease to be available for the purpose for which they were built and for which, generally speaking, they are still required. Accordingly, if such a policy were to be adopted the question would arise whether the continued building of State houses specifically for gardaí could be justified at all.
The other and conflicting consideration is that there is an understandable wish on the part of some members to remain on in houses in which they have lived for a considerable time.
I am having the whole matter examined further.
Can the Minister say how far this examination has gone and when he anticipates being able to reach a decision, bearing in mind the anxiety on the part of many members of the force in regard to purchasing homes of their own?
I assure the House that a preliminary examination of this very complex problem has been in hand for some time. I have had discussions with the Garda Representative Body and with a number of Deputies, including Deputy Smith, in regard to the problem. The matter is a serious one to which there is no easy solution. It will have to be teased out before a decision is reached.
Since no houses have been erected under this scheme for the past six years would the Minister, as one who has brought back a touch of humanity to his office end this discrimination against gardaí in State-owned houses and promote home ownership in accordance with the policy in this regard not only here but throughout Europe?
I can only answer that by saying that I appreciate fully the difficulty experienced by a person who on retirement is not the owner of the house in which he lives. I am sure nobody here would wish to find himself in that situation. However, that is one side of the problem. I appreciate the difficulties it gives rise to but I am prepared to tease the whole question out in order that I might be enabled to make a decision.
Taking into account the inordinate degree of difficulty experienced by gardaí and by prison officers in relation to obtaining loans and having regard also to the situation which necessitates the transfer of such personnel from time to time, would the Minister not agree that the State has an exceptional duty in regard to the question of accommodation for these people? The transfer situation is not conducive to settled tenure.
This is another part of the problem that needs very careful consideration.
Perhaps the Minister would include prison officers in his re-examination of the situation?
Of approximately 9,000 gardaí in the force, only 400 occupy State-owned houses——
A question, please.
Would the Minister agree that there is an element of discrimination against those men especially having regard to the fact that on retirement they are usually not in a position to compete for houses?
I can only repeat that I am very much aware of what is involved on both sides of the problem and that I am having the matter teased out as fully as possible in the hope of being able to do something about it.
Perhaps the Minister would include in his examination the possibility of making some arrangement with local authorities so that they might make available houses to members of the force who could then qualify under the tenant purchase scheme as there are obvious benefits in having the gardaí dispersed as widely as possible.
I would be prepared to recommend that Deputy Barry's suggestion be examined as a possible way of helping in the situation.