I am very supportive of facilitating tenants in purchasing their houses or apartments. In 2010 we informed tenants that the 1995 scheme was going to be brought to a conclusion at the end of 2012. Quite an amount of notice was given. I am sure the Deputy will recall that we discussed the matter in the House. Everyone agreed that we should inform tenants that the scheme would be coming to an end and that if they were interested in tenant purchase, they should submit applications. I also informed the House at the time that we would allow one year - this year - for the processing of outstanding applications from the 1995 scheme. There was also a once-off scheme in 2011 under which tenants with up to 15 years tenancy could avail of a maximum discount of 45% of the selling price of their homes. We did, therefore, provide plenty of advance warning.
I want to bring forward the legislation as quickly as possible. As the Deputy is aware, a number of Bills relating to housing are in the offing. I refer to that which relates to the Residential Tenancies Board and that which may or may not be introduced this week and which deals with the setting of new rents. There will also be another housing Bill later in the year and I intend to bring it forward as quickly as possible. It is not the case that we wish to delay matters in any way. We want to facilitate people in purchasing their houses. As already stated, however, plenty of advance warning was given in respect of the previous scheme coming to an end. We asked those who were interested in purchasing to submit their applications before the end of last year.