I am grateful to have the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment. Local authority tenants in Dublin were last given the opportunity to purchase their houses during the Millennium. The same situation applies throughout the country. However in Dublin a large number of tenants who applied to purchase their houses during the Millennium still have not completed the transaction and signed the deeds of ownership: the process has been slowed down at the local authority end because of the need for resources and support from the Department of the Environment.
The practice in the past was that, if not every year at least on a very regular basis, new local authority sale schemes would issue; but there has been none since the much heralded tenant purchase scheme in the Millennium year. People who did not take the opportunity to purchase their local authority house during the Millennium have not been able to purchase their local authority house since then. Despite numerous requests to the Minister for the Environment, he has given no indication in the recent past that he intends to remedy this by introducing another tenant purchase scheme. What effect does this have on the local authority tenants, who may be living in a house for up to 40 years? If an elderly widow who has not purchased her house passes on, the house reverts to the local authority despite the fact that she may have been a tenant for 40 years. She may have paid for the property many times over, but she does not now have the opportunity to will it to her relatives. This is grossly unfair. It is now the best part of four years since local authority tenants were given the opportunity to purchase their houses.
Not only should people who want to purchase their houses be allowed to do so but people living in local authority flats and maisonettes should also be allowed to do so. I have been instrumental in informing the Department of the Environment through pointing out to the local authority how such schemes work in other countries. Yet despite our efforts over the years to press the Department to allow the local authority sell the flats and maisonettes to the tenants they are still saying there are legal problems because someone has to be made responsible for the roof, the drain pipes and the gardens. Who is responsible for the maintenance of the roof and drains in flat complexes in England? The schemes in England have worked very well for a very long time and why can we not find a way of doing the same here? Indeed what arrangements are made for the maintenance of the roof and drains in private apartment blocks? Surely it should be possible to use this as a precedent. Why has it taken so long to allow this to happen?
There are many corporation flat complexes in inner city Dublin that would benefit greatly if individual flats were sold off to the tenants because people would now have a vested interest in refurbishing the flats. The Government have been very remiss in not providing a tenant purchase scheme. It is nothing short of outrageous that people have not been able to apply to purchase their homes for almost four years. There used to be a very regular straightforward tenant purchase scheme.
In conclusion, will the Minister introduce a scheme immediately? Many people are now paying more in rent than they would pay to purchase their house. It is grossly unfair that that should be the case. I ask the Minister to introduce a new tenant purchase scheme.
