asked the Minister for the Environment if he will consider making special grants available for housing co-operative building groups in view of the massive savings which would accrue to local authorities from such groups.
17.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Co-operative Building Groups.
16.
asked the Minister for the Environment if he will request each local authority to appoint a housing co-operative officer to encourage and advise on the setting up of local housing co-operative building groups.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 17 together. Local authorities have been requested by my Department to encourage and assist in every way possible the formation and development of housing co-operatives. In particular local authorities were asked to assign, as far as possible, the responsibility for general liaison with co-operative groups to one officer.
Since 1979 my Department have paid a grant towards the administrative and general expenses of the National Association of Building Co-operatives which is the co-ordinating body for housing co-operatives. This grant has allowed the association to employ a full-time organiser.
Members of co-operative housing associations can, under certain conditions, avail of special category Housing Finance Agency loans of up to £27,000 compared with the normal limit of £22,500. In addition, a site subsidy of up to £500 is normally payable by my Department in respect of sites provided by local authorities for members of co-operative groups. The normal £1,000 new house grant and £3,000 mortgage subsidy are, of course, available to members of co-operatives if they otherwise qualify. In the present financial situation, I am not in a position to provide any further financial assistance for such groups.
I welcome the statement of the Minister. Will he agree to encourage local authorities or to instruct them to appoint a housing co-operative officer? They have been successful in areas such as Tralee where they have helped to reduce considerably the local authority housing list. Will the Minister encourage local authorities to appoint a housing officer?
I will.