Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 March 2013
170. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government If he will explain the way, in the absence of legislation to address the Dunne Judgement, it has been possible for local authorities such as Kildare County Council to forcibly repossess houses acquired with local authority loans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14415/13]
View answerWhere repossession occurs it is only as a last resort, and my Department is aware that it generally involves those households in arrears who refuse to engage with the local authority lender. In the wake of the Dunne Judgment, where carrying out repossessions, local authorities have invoked the provisions of Section 11(5) of the Housing (scellaneous Provisions) Act 1992, which provides for a housing authority to recover possession of the dwelling under sections 84 to 89 of the Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act, Ireland, 1860, as if the authority were the landlord and the borrower were the tenant.
