Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 19 Nov 1991

Vol. 413 No. 1

Written Answers. - House Improvement Eligibility.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

121 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some local authorities have ruled that no person who is a house owner can apply for the recently announced scheme of improvement works in lieu of local authority housing regardless of how overcrowded or substandard facilities in the house may be; and whether this is consistent with his proposals in the Plan for Social Housing and in particular page 35, paragraph 3 where reference is made to the eligibility of home owners.

Minister for the Environment (Dr. O'Hanlon)

The scheme under which a local authority may carry out improvements to a private house in lieu of providing a local authority house is aimed specifically at houses owned and occupied by persons qualified for local authority housing. The scheme may also cater for a case where a person qualified for local authority housing, can be suitably accommodated in a house owned by a member of that person's family.

It is a matter for the individual housing authorities to implement the scheme having regard to their assessment of its potential to meet housing needs in their area and the capital allocation made to them for the scheme this year. In deciding the priority to be accorded to individual cases, for which the scheme is considered appropriate, housing authorities should, of course, have regard to the relative acuteness of the housing needs of the households involved.