Vol. 446 No. 5
32 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Environment if he has completed his review of the plan for social housing; the annual figures to date for those housed under the various schemes in the plan for social housing; if he will raise the income eligibility limit for applicants for the shared ownership scheme; and if he will review his decision to refuse tenants of flats the right to purchase their homes. [2297/94]
97 Ms F. Fitzgerald asked the Minister for the Environment whether it is possible to give long-standing tenants of Dublin Corporation further rights to leasehold tenancy in view of the recent decision of the Minister of State at his Department not to allow the sale of local authority flats to proceed. [2118/94]
107 Ms F. Fitzgerald asked the Minister for the Environment the reason it has been decided by the Government not to allow local authority flat tenants to purchase their homes. [2417/94]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 32, 97 and 107 together.
The general review of the schemes in "A Plan for Social Housing", including shared ownership, is nearing completion. Details of activity under these schemes are published in my Department's annual and quarterly housing statistics bulletins, copies of which are placed in the Oireachtas Library.
In relation to the sale of local authority flats, the examination already carried out has, as outlined in the reply to Questions Nos. 228 and 235 of 11 October 1994, revealed that there are major difficulties in making arrangements for the sale of flats that would prove satisfactory to tenant purchasers generally, to local authorities or to tenants who do not wish to buy. Notwithstanding this, I am asking the local authorities concerned to further examine whether, having regard to the available legal advice and to the circumstances of particular flat blocks, a way can be found to allow the sale of flats to tenants who have expressed an interest in purchasing.
