Vol. 525 No. 2
656 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the reason the essential repairs grants scheme has been refused to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo in view of the fact that her house urgently needs rewiring; and the changes he proposes within the grants scheme in order that people whose property is in danger of going on fire, will be included in the essential repairs grants scheme. [23963/00]
It is a matter for the local authorities which administer the essential repairs grants scheme to consider the nature of works to be grant aided, the determination as to whether an application meets the eligibility criteria, the amount of assistance to be provided, the relative priority of applications, etc. My Department's role relates primarily to the recoupment of a proportion of local authority expenditure on the payment of the grants. I have no proposals to amend the scheme.
657 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the plans he has to extend the first-time buyer's grant to those buying older houses; if he has conducted an evaluation of the measures available to help first-time buyers buy their homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23964/00]
I have no plans to extend the first-time buyer's grant to those buying older houses as any additional grant aid would, in present market circumstances, be likely to be absorbed in house price increases. A series of measures to assist first time buyers were introduced by the Government in Action on House Prices, April 1998, and Action on the Housing Market, March 1999. Following a further review of the housing market earlier this year and of social and affordable housing programmes the Government launched Action on Housing which contains a number of key measures to assist first-time buyers including: the removal of fiscal incentives to discourage speculators pricing first time buyers out of home ownership; major reductions in stamp duty with an exemption from stamp duty for first time buyers purchasing a second hand house priced up to £150,000; and significant improvements to the terms and conditions of a number of the social housing options, including the local authority affordable housing scheme, the shared ownership scheme, the local authority house purchase loan scheme and the mortgage allowance scheme.
