Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 2 Dec 1997

Vol. 483 No. 6

Written Answers. - Relocation Grants.

John V. Farrelly

Ceist:

290 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will inform Deputy Farrelly of the eligibility for relocation grants for families who wish to leave Dublin and relocate to other parts of the country; if families who have moved to County Meath are eligible for these grants; if he will inform Deputy Farrelly of the details and criteria set down by his Department for these applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20911/97]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Molloy)

There are no relocation grants payable by my Department.

The mortgage allowance scheme assists local authority tenants and tenant purchasers who wish to acquire private housing, as owner-occupiers, with the aid of a mortgage loan anywhere in the country and vacate their local authority accommodation. The allowance is £4,500 payable on a graduated basis over five years directly to the lending agency and helps to ease the transition to full mortgage repayments.

Persons on the waiting list of Rural Resettlement Ireland may be eligible for a pilot resettlement mortgage loan scheme, jointly funded by the Housing Finance Agency through the local authority Bank of Ireland, and RRI. This scheme is aimed at those who wish to become home owners. In addition, there is a pilot local authority rural resettlement scheme in Counties Clare, Galway, Kerry, Mayo and Roscommon where a local authority may provide housing for RRI applicants who are qualified for local authority housing and who then become local authority tenants in the normal way.

These pilot schemes apply where persons are moving under the aegis of Rural Resettlement Ireland Ltd, from urban areas to depopulated rural areas.

Copies of the terms and conditions of the pilot schemes have been placed in the Oireachtas Library.