asked the Minister for Local Government why his Department are refusing to pay the higher housing grant to persons who are building in a rural area and who had been living in a non-municipal town.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Rural Area Housing Grants.
21.
Section 16 of the Housing Act, 1966, requires that a person who derives his livelihood solely or mainly from a source other than the pursuit of agriculture, must be ordinarily resident in a rural area in order to qualify for the higher rate of grant. The definition of "rural area" in section 2 of the Act excludes non-municipal towns.
Surely the Minister will agree it is a rather foolish proposal that a person who lives in a non-municipal town, and therefore a person for whom the county council has a responsibility to rehouse, should be debarred from being paid the higher grant?
This higher rate of grant was introduced because it was felt there was justification for a differential in favour of people erecting houses in rural areas. This involved defining "rural areas." In any case where a definition like that has to be made, there are bound to be borderline cases, but the whole purpose of the exercise is lost if the definition is gradually extended to cover these types of cases.
Is the Minister not aware that the intention was to grant this to the people who were building in rural areas and, though he has quoted section 16 of the Act, the section which refers to the higher grant does not say anything about where the person is living but simply says the house must be built in a rural area? In view of that, would the Minister have another look at it before he makes a statement in the House?
It is provided that the person must be ordinarily resident in a rural area, and it is not the purpose of this grant to entice people to go out of built-up areas and build in rural areas.
The Minister says it is provided that the person must be resident in a rural area, but the section does not say that. It says the house must be built in a rural area.
It states that the person must be ordinarily resident in a rural area.